Good legacy planning isn’t just about lawyers and signatures, certainly, not in our opinion. Legacy planning –a piece of your estate planning picture, is so much more personal. It’s about being clear on your values. Being uncompromisingly clear about what’s most important and creating a watertight plan to document your wishes. While confronting our mortality can be daunting, legacy planning ensures your loved ones will manage when you’re no longer around, with no confusion left behind. From thinking about your values to the beneficiaries, and why it all even matters, we believe it’s time to talk about legacy planning.
Your values and wishes
Legacy planning should reflect who you are, and the impact you want to have on those closest to you. Whether it be setting up a trust to ensure your family is well looked after or donating to a charity, thinking about your values and documenting your wishes based on these motivators, will cement peace of mind that your family know you have had a say in what happens next. The next time you find yourself with some peace and quiet, consider all the things you care about. The hopes and dreams you have for your children and grandchildren. Causes you deeply care for. Just like having a Wealth Map conversation, we can’t begin to map out your perfect legacy plan, until you’re clear on your values.
The beneficiaries
Legacy planning is more than just determining who gets what. Motivations are different for everyone and while they typically outline philanthropic or bequeathing intentions, non-monetary initiatives exist too. Think volunteering, advocacy or education. Essentially anything that you can do today to contribute towards how you want to be remembered. Your plan, like every other aspect of your financial house, will be holistic. Whether it encompasses bequeathing to family, charity or both – it is as unique as you are. Our advice team have spent years collaborating with families to create certainty through estate planning. When you’re ready, your adviser will help you to explore how you can maximise the touchpoints of your plan.
Purpose
We all want to be remembered for doing the right thing, not for leaving a mess behind. For families with significant wealth, a positive legacy for children and grandchildren is often the most important goal. After all, your legacy is your connection between the places and the people who mean the most. When you’re working towards building your legacy, you become the steward of your world. In this space, your values are naturally front of mind, guiding how you show up each day. We encourage you to think through how legacy planning could help make a meaningful impact and difference to the people in your orbit who matter most.
All good things take time, legacy planning included. As a starting point, it can be revealing to take a granular approach in order to become unwaveringly clear on your values and intentions. Consider what you can do today that will make an impact, and be remembered, and appreciated long after you’re gone. If looking after your loved ones and making an impact is important to you, we look forward to being there to support you on this journey.
