Each year we raise awareness of estate planning. We spend time, energy, and money to come up with creative ways to compel people to think about how they want to care for their loved ones when they are not able to express their will or direction. We go into great detail about the considerations for planning for the people who don’t have capacity to care for themselves because of wisdom, acumen, or savvy. We as professionals want to provide guidance about the hidden sand traps that we see in the form of taxes of confusion. But still, folks don’t want to talk about what can happen or what will happen.
I have been presenting estate planning seminars for years. I am privileged to partner with Industrial Bank to present annual estate planning seminars for the past eight years. Industrial Bank is the perfect example of legacy building. It has been owned and operated for three generations by the Mitchell family. It is an institution that exemplifies successful succession planning to build a business where the heirs are not just beneficiaries reaping the benefits of the work of their ancestors, but heirs who are committed to growing the business. Industrial Bank continues to grow, most recently expanding into New York and New Jersey. The heirs are given the resources and instilled with the values to use the resources to live their best lives but to use the resources to impact their growing family, heirs, and community.
I have had a few people speak to me after the Industrial Bank presentation and share that they have been attending the presentation for many years. Undeniably they are aware of estate planning. However, they have gathered information, asked many questions and returned for another session without moving forward to complete any plan. Awareness is just one step. The action is the next step. The awareness of what can happen is not the place to stop. I want us to begin with awareness.
Application of knowledge is when transformation takes place. Hoarding information without action does not benefit anyone. Estate planning answers three questions: 1. What happens to my stuff when I die? Many times, this question debilitates people and creates the fear of inevitable paralysis. The second question that estate planning answers is “what happens if I am unable to care for myself”. By establishing powers of attorney that manage authority to for an agent to make financial and health decisions for the principal, the appointment of that duty is not randomly assigned by and to a person that is not in relationship to the principal.
The third question that estate planning answers is “what is the legacy I want to leave”. Legacy building is a personal and unique answer for each person and family. The resources and the heritage that each person creates underscore the values to be passed on. Strategic planning allows for wealth growth for more than the next generation. Our goal is to provide resources for our loved ones to have what is needed to accomplish great things not just to have great things.
The Life & Legacy Counselors build visions that create action plans to build legacies through estate planning.