How to Pass Personal Stories and Values to Future Generations
Don’t stop reading. . . we know that money is inherently very important, but it is also true that while money and property may be the most discussed types of wealth that a person owns, the riches of their experience and wisdom can mean even more to loved ones down the line. Reinforcement of family traditions can be built into your client’s estate plan alongside their wishes regarding the distribution of their money, property, and belongings. After all, what really makes a family is its values and traditions.
An excellent way for your client to share their values with their loved ones is to hold a family meeting to discuss what matters most to them. In addition to sharing their wisdom, they may make it more likely that their loved ones will handle their inheritance responsibly, especially if they understand the reasons behind the choices they have made in their estate plan. This is one of the many reasons for your client to have a family discussion about their legacy and estate plan.
How Your Client Can Tell Their Story Through Their Estate Plan
It can be delightful to hear the stories of elders’, their fondest memories and wildest adventures, as well as the struggles they overcame to get the family where it is today. Such wisdom provides meaning for a financial legacy that otherwise might be viewed as just a lucky windfall. As part of your client’s estate and legacy planning, recording their own personal history of triumphs and tribulations through one or more of the following methods is often the best gift they can leave their loved ones:
- Audio files. With the prevalence of smartphones, most people are carrying around the easiest device for recording their thoughts. Through a variety of apps, stories or lessons can be recorded as they occur or as they are remembered.
- Video files. The same goes for home movies and other video recordings. Older film formats can be easily digitized and organized along with the videos from their phone. Today’s technology also makes it easier than ever to add narration and context to a video, making the story all the richer.
- Photo albums. Many families have prized photo collections that catalog generations. It is a tragedy when something like this is lost in a fire or an extreme weather event or misplaced during a move. Creating a digital database is a favor to your client’s family in more ways than one. Not only will they have access to these memories at any time, but they can also feel secure knowing that these family treasures will not be lost and that multiple copies can be made for the different branches of the family. In addition, most of us are capturing our favorite moments by using our phones to take pictures that can be stored on the phone or in the cloud or saved to a separate device to be protected.
- Letters and other writings. In your client’s legacy plan, they can provide handwritten or typed letters or stories to their family members, to be received and read at a time of their choosing. They may also choose to include past correspondence, mementos, and postcards that have been tucked away somewhere. Reliving their memories of the past through their old letters and postcards can be a great way for younger generations to get to know and sincerely appreciate their life journey and legacy.
Passing Values to the Next Generation
Some estate planning strategies blend finances and personal values. Whether your client feels most passionate about the need for their beneficiaries to travel and gain worldly experience, continue a unique family tradition such as sailing or astronomy, or support meaningful charitable or spiritual work, we can draft trusts that hold and distribute funds for these endeavors.
- Educational trusts. If they value education, they may want to set up a trust to fund trade school, undergraduate and graduate degrees, study-abroad programs, or even community classes for their family’s future generations. Because of sharp increases in educational costs in the United States, their grandchildren will likely benefit immensely from an educational trust. Depending on the generation, they may also be able to use a special type of educational trust as a tax strategy.
- Incentive trusts. Similar to the way educational trusts set aside money for funding a beneficiary’s schooling, incentive trusts can also help steer the course of their loved ones’ lives by encouraging some paths while discouraging others. For example, an incentive trust could contain instructions for disbursements to be released when the beneficiary is working a part- or full-time job. If family vacations were an important part of their upbringing, they could set aside funds specifically for their grandchildren to experience the same wonderful traditions they enjoyed.
- Charitable trusts or foundations. Charitable trusts or foundations establish a family legacy of supporting a particular cause, but they may also have the added financial benefit of reducing income and estate taxes. They are an excellent way to benefit a charitable organization central to their core values and associate their name with that philanthropic effort for generations to come.
If you are curious about suggesting any of these options to your client, we have a client focused version of this article that you can share by clicking below. Or, have your client call us at 708.448.5169, and we can schedule an appointment to review options for showcasing their memories and values in a long-lasting way that truly benefits their loved ones.
