Creating generational wealth is transformative for a family. Having multiple families create generational wealth is transformative for a community. The Association of Black Estate Planning Professionals was founded by myself, a estate planning attorney. My vision was to create a collaborative strategy for people with a commitment to creating, protecting and transferring wealth.
I began The Griffin Firm to support community members to retain wealth for multiple generations. Estate planning tools such as revocable and irrevocable trusts have been strategically used in other communities for many years. However, statistics show that only 30 percent of Black Americans have any estate planning documents. One of the favorite sayings of The Griffin Firm is, “While everyone with a life needs an estate plan, the best estate plans have assets in them.”
It is with this motivation the Association of Black Estate Planning Professionals was created. The unification of the strategies will economically empower the communities in a way that is transformative. Trusted members of the financial industries have the experience, education and the capacity to raise the education and use the tools to elevate our homes, organizations and enterprises to financial success.
This second annual gathering is expanding this year. With the first year being held in the greater Washington area, the event will also be held this year in greater Atlanta and Durham, North Carolina.
The Creating a Legacy Summit & Conference has two purposes. The Friday afternoon summit brings together financial professionals from advisors, accountants, realtors, insurance professionals and estate planning attorneys to discuss ways to develop collaborative teams for wealth creation and preservation. The luncheon keynote speakers will be Kevin Davenport (DMV) of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and Andrew Moss of the U.S. Department of Treasury, who will highlight the opportunities and the challenges from the political and institutional levels. The presenting speakers will share best practices to structure, mobilize and differentiate the team for marketing purposes. This will build business while building the community.
The Creating a Legacy Conference held on Saturday will be a series of workshops that focus on the different components of wealth creation. These workshops are Strategic Financial Planning, Insurance, Real Estate, Entrepreneurship, Estate Planning and Strategic Giving. Collectively these workshops will provide the information and resources necessary to create, protect and transfer wealth. The subject matter experts that will inspire, educate and motivate economic empowerment.
The luncheon keynote speaker Lashawne Holland, the “Global Wealth Activator,” is an author, speaker financial architect. Her message has been inspiring and coaching on the steps to creating abundance. Lashawne Holland shares that “Financial transformation is possible with the right blueprint for wealth.”
This is an opportunity to come together and build. When we know better, we can do better. Collectively, we can do much more than any of us can do individually.
Griffin is managing attorney of The Griffin Firm, PLLC.