Legacy Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Legacy Wealth Advisors

Let your values guide you

We talk about value sets a lot in financial planning and that is because a clear set of values and priorities will help inform your financial decisions. Your values are what drive your behavior, motivate you to reach your goals, and set the tone for the life you want to live. Money is simply a tool to help you get there. Money isn’t in the driver’s seat, your values are.

When thinking about your legacy, start with your core values. What people, places, and things mean the most to you? What activities or practices bring you fulfillment? What does true joy mean to you and how can you achieve that in your own life? The answers to these questions will help reveal your core values. Take some time to really think about what these are for you. While you may have an idea for what they are, be introspective and work to discover them.

Your values are the bedrock for your financial plan and are the source of which people will remember you. Let your values lead the way as you carve out your legacy each and every day. Values, like your legacy, are long-term. They aren’t built overnight, they take years to cultivate and grow. Work to both understand your core values and the many places in your financial landscape that can benefit from using them as a navigator.

Use your estate plan

Estate planning and legacy planning are terms we often talk about in tandem, but why? Each of these things is different, but the goal behind them overlaps. Estate planning involves practical measures to help your assets have a new life once you pass away. It is the practice of collecting, cataloging and preparing for the future.

Legacy planning is also a plan for the future. It is how your life will be honored after you are gone. But it won’t just be from the family estate you passed to your eldest child. It will be the way your granddaughter thinks of you when she donates to your favorite charity or the way you laughed when you cooked or how you always listened with caring ears and an open heart.

You can use your estate plan as a tool to continue to communicate your legacy even after you are gone. Remember, you should be taking measures to communicate who you are and what you care about each and every day to help you establish a legacy. Your estate plan can be a great medium through which you can continue to live out your values. Whether it is donating a portion of your estate to a charity or setting up a scholarship or linking a trust account to charitable efforts, there are many creative ways to use your estate plan to honor your legacy.

Start today

As we discussed in our last post, a legacy isn’t something that is reserved for after you are gone, a legacy is something that you start and continue to build throughout your life. When you look at legacy from this vantage point, it allows you to be more creative and intentional with the plans you do set in place.

You may be able to be more charitably inclined or better able to align your spending and habits with your goals and values. When you start living in a way that honors your core values, you will be able to create a more profound, lasting legacy than any document could.

Using your time and talents to live out your values is an incredible way to create a legacy you and your family will honor for generations. What does your legacy look like to you and how can your financial plan better reflect that? We would love to talk to you and help you align your finances with your values. Schedule a 15-minute call today!

Life has a funny way of keeping us busy. We are busy with work, family, friends, hobbies, and more that we rarely have time to actually focus on the present. With the sound of the alarm or the ticking of the clock, comes the sound of another obligation summoning us onward. The deeper we get in this cycle of preparation and movement, the harder it can be to focus on the present and live in the moment.

This is especially true when it comes to a legacy. So many people think of a legacy as a far-off future reality, one that happens after they are gone. But we would like to turn that idea on its head and show you that a legacy is something that is built day by day. It is something that lives in the present and happens each and every day.

How can you make the most of creating your legacy and what avenues can help you start today? Discover that and so much more with us today!

Re-define legacy

In order to leave a legacy today, we have to start by redefining what a legacy means in the first place. A legacy means so many different things and that meaning can shift over time, but in essence, a legacy is a way we are remembered by our loved ones. Think through the following questions:

How do people see you?
When they think about you, what comes to mind?
Are these answers what you want to hear?
In what ways can you shape your actions to reflect the goals and values you want to leave behind?

When you think about the things you want to leave behind, what comes to mind? It might be property or certain assets or even possessions. But what we leave behind is so much more than possessions. We leave behind thoughts, actions, a pattern of behavior that we hope to instill in the next generation.

In order to leave behind more than material possessions, it is important to start thinking about what legacy planning really means to you and how you can make an effort to include yourself and your loved ones in that plan. One really great avenue is through charitable giving.

Pursue charitable avenues

Charitable giving is an important part of financial planning. Defining your own charitable efforts and also including your family/loved ones in those is a great way to help redefine your legacy and instill positive practices in your loved ones.

There are many financially smart ways to donate to charity but the two we are going to talk about today are qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) and donor-advised funds (DAFs).

QCDs are an excellent strategy for retirees to donate to charity while lessening their tax burden. Retirees can donate all or a portion of their required minimum distributions to charity through this process. With a QCD, you can make a donation to a qualifying public charity directly through a traditional IRA. The funds aren’t taxed which increases the gift to the charity while also reducing your tax burden.

So many retirees focus on charitable giving and how it works in their estate plan, but QCDs are a great way to start that practice of charitable giving now. Waiting to donate to charity through your estate might not be the best way to make the biggest impact. Dedicating yourself to donating when you can throughout your life will establish a pattern and practice of giving that will increase the impact you are able to make to the causes and organizations you care so much about.

Another excellent way to establish a practice of giving today is through donor-advised funds. DAFs are a special type of account that allow you to invest however much money you want into them and make recommendations to the charity your funds will support. With a DAF, you can give on your own schedule. You may be able to contribute more one year than you are another, but either way, you are still giving and able to make an impact.

These accounts are also excellent ways to get your kids and grandkids involved in the giving process. Each year, you could let one of them decide where the money will go. Let them research the charities and explain why they want to donate to them and how the money will help others in need. This way, you are showing your grandkids what it means to give back to others and why it is so important. This is an excellent way to get them involved in charitable efforts and to build your legacy.

Include loved ones in your plan

Your legacy transcends just you. It includes your family and loved ones so it is important to involve them in your legacy planning. By dedicating yourself to creating your legacy here and now, you will be able to better serve the people, places, and things that mean the most to you.

A legacy is so much more than the future, it is the present and all of the beautiful things you choose to do with that.

Here at Legacy Wealth, it is our goal to help you use your money to define your legacy each and every day. Interested in learning more? Schedule a quick call with us—we can’t wait to hear from you.

How To Look At Your Legacy In A New Way