How to Leave a Legacy
In the estate planning process you will probably cover the basics of estate planning: naming an executor, stating your final wishes and identifying beneficiaries to receive your estate. For some people, though, a basic estate plan is not enough. What if you want to leave more? Through legacy planning you can leave a financial heritage and a sense of who you are to your family and to your community.
Family Trusts
Trusts are an excellent way to leave a financial legacy for your loved ones. You can do so through individual lifetime trusts or even family trusts. Long term Trusts can provide financial stability for those close to you throughout their life. With a Generation Skipping or Dynasty Trust, you may even be able to help your grandchildren or great-grandchildren pay for college.
Personal Documents
Legacy planning also focuses on leaving behind a piece of yourself for your family to remember and for future generations to know. There are many ways to do this. You can create write a letter to each loved one to be read after your death. You can also write a memoir with remembrances and life lessons to provide your current family and descendants with a sense of who you really were. You can also write a family history with the help of genealogy research. Learning about your family’s past can help you and your loved ones better understand and appreciate your current life.
Charitable Trusts
Do you have a favorite charitable cause that you donate funds to each year? With a Charitable Trust, you can help others for years after you are gone. Such a Trust is a great way to help a cause close to your heart.
You can also save money when you use a Charitable Trust. These Trusts provide a tax deduction for the year they are funded. They also lower your taxable estate, which helps your family with lower or avoid estate taxes upon your death.
