Being Remembered: Your Ultimate Legacy

BY CATHERINE KING

How do you want to be remembered?

Whether it’s your work, words, example, charity, or more, since time immemorial, people have desired to be remembered and to leave behind something that outlasts them and continues to inspire and impact future generations.

A new approach is now available to help leave your ultimate legacy: its timing and availability could not be more perfect!

Are You Ready? The Largest Wealth Transfer in History is Upon Us!

Over the next two decades, as baby boomers pass the torch to the next generation, over $70 trillion of wealth –an amount greater than the GDP of the United States and China combined - will be passed on. What’s troubling is that statistics confirm that a staggering 70% of wealthy families lose their wealth in the first generational transfer. About 90% of them lose it the following generation after that.

The size, strength, or influence of the family does not matter. Even with a family as well-resourced as the Vanderbilts, this figure has been proven true.

You want to leave a legacy, right? Creating wealth is only half the battle. Passing it down and making it stick, a concept known as creating generational wealth is even more challenging. When Americans think about managing wealth, most only consider two options: financial planning and estate planning. One is about protecting and growing wealth, while the other revolves around preparing to leave it to your family. Yet these two pathways have never been enough to overcome what destroys building generational wealth.

The Ultimate Legacy

Fortunately, a new approach is emerging, based on how royal families and monarchies pass on their legacy and wealth - one that can turn the tide. What is curious is that it’s not about passing money or assets. It’s about passing virtues, values, wisdom, family history, and skill to empower your heirs to protect the family, embrace the legacy, and pass it on to future generations much as a king would.

According to the research, half of the wealthy individuals over 70 think their kids will only be able to handle wealth properly once they’re around 40 years old. It’s also reported that 64 percent of parents admit that they’ve talked very little, if at all, about their wealth to their heirs. Being unable to transfer the wisdom and guidance of those who created the wealth to their heirs is a primary reason most inheritances disappear in a single generation without any means of recovery.

Fortunately, a subsection of passionate attorneys, financial advisors, and tax experts have developed a new approach. By using technology, an advisory group, storytelling, and other resources, people are now able to continue passing on their wisdom, counsel, and resources to their heirs from beyond the grave.

It’s modeled after the way monarchies have successfully passed generational wealth for hundreds of years without losing any assets or the legacy, which is why it’s known as the Ultimate Legacy approach.

This isn’t science fiction or the subject of a Hollywood movie like “The Ultimate Gift”, although there are some clever ways that those principles can be applied to your family.

This new approach combines traditional Estate Planning and Financial Planning with technology, training, and key advisory groups. It means you finally have a way to help ensure that your legacy continues and that your heirs are protected and directed by your wisdom, giving them the greatest chance to continue growing their wealth and impacting multiple generations.

Make Sure You’re Leaving a Legacy, Not a Burden

This new approach will help you change the statistics on the success of creating a long-term legacy for your family and help your heirs create generational wealth. Even so, it’s crucial to ensure you understand the basics of what it takes to prepare properly in California or your home state so that passing on an inheritance to the first generation doesn’t destroy your assets or the family you leave behind. A will is inadequate for most estates and can leave the proverbial “trail of tears” for heirs when effective estate planning is not in place.

California’s estate tax rates and probate laws are among the most complex and highest cost in the nation. A will doesn’t protect much in California. Unless you have more in place, which does not cost much, your estate will be tied up for months or years of court proceedings, guaranteed.

This sets the stage for disputes to arise among family members and beneficiaries. The Court will authorize sizable probate fees, then your estate and heirs will be faced and likely overwhelmed by taxes. This will deplete the inheritance you leave behind and can create family rifts that may not be easily repaired.

With proper planning, all of these are easily and very affordably avoided. Yet, the most significant benefit of this Ultimate Legacy approach is how you set your family up now to perpetuate your legacy, continually receive your wisdom, and make sure the inheritance achieves the highest good for your heirs and future generations. The heart of it rests on Living and Giving.

"Ultimate Legacy approach is how you set your family up now to perpetuate your legacy, continually receive your wisdom, and make sure the inheritance achieves the highest good for your heirs and future generations."

In photo; The King family

Here’s How to Begin:

Here are a few of the preliminary steps to consider to help create a comprehensive ultimate legacy plan to ensure that your impact on the world is remembered and continues for generations:

1. Identify your values and what you want to be remembered for:

It is essential to identify the values and beliefs that are most important to you, along with what you want to be remembered for. This will help guide your legacy planning and ensure that your impact on the world aligns with your values and beliefs.

2. Reflect on your past legacy:

Take time to reflect on the experiences, relationships, and achievements that have shaped your life and made you who you are today. This reflection can help you understand your past legacy and the impact you have had on the world.

3. Assess your present legacy:

Assess your current impact on the world and consider what you want to change or improve. This can help you shape and redirect your present legacy and ensure that it aligns with your values and goals.

4. Plan for your future legacy:

Consider what you want your future legacy to be, then find a qualified team of attorneys, financial advisors, and tax experts who are well-versed in the Ultimate Legacy approach to help you create the plan to achieve it.

About the author:

Catherine King is the founder and principal of King Law Office. She has served Northern California communities for over 30 years in her law practice while also devoting herself to educating and serving families in Estate Planning and practices with an emphasis on leaving a legacy. She is the author of the book “Paths to Prosperity: A Guide to Living from your Heart not your Wallet.”