Legacy Development Tip #1

Legacy Development Tip #1 - Begin to build personal & family heirlooms and keepsakes

Legacy Tip Suggestions - Today I was busy on my laptop working away when my father came into the family's media room and asked if I wanted to go out with him to finish up the holiday errands. My immediate and almost preconditioned answer was, "Today is a work day until 5pm Pops, sorry, can't make it." He started out the room and turned with a slight smile saying, "When I go home to Philadelphia, you know what my dad says to me? He says, Don come ride with me. And you know what I do? I go. I am just trying to keep the family traditions going."

When he said that the laptop immediately closed and I jumped in the shower to head out of the house with my dad. In this adventure we stopped by the local Hallmark store for my father to purchase a card for my mother for Christmas. After grabbing a birthday card for my sister, I browsed the store and found a tremendous 'Legacy Find'.

The Legacy Find - Hallmark has a remarkable turn-key solution to building your legacy called, the Instant Scrapbook, and the price is only $50.00 USD. The cool thing is the Instant Scrapbook comes in various themes and sizes. There was a 'Family' version, a 'My Grand Kids' version, a 'Wedding' version and a '1st Wedding Anniversary' version. (At least these were the versions I found at the Hallmark store on University Drive in Huntsville, Alabama, USA.) You can see them online HERE.

If you want a simple and elegant way to develop a wonder scrapbook full of priceless family pictures in a easy to use format that will be a tangible record for generations to come, stop by your local Hallmark Store and start developing personal & family heirlooms and keepsakes.

If you have a Legacy Tip you would like to share, send me an email with "Legacy Tips" in the subject line to: Email Me

Happy and Peaceful Holidays to ALL!

-dlw

*** Update - While visiting the Hallmark website I found another great Legacy Product so today we have a two for one tip, the new product - The Hallmark Legacy Keeper also available for $50.00 USD and it includes an MP3 player to record your Personal Legacy Statements and stories for future generations.

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Introducing the Four Building Blocks of a Legacy Plan

I thought about where we should begin our discussion on Legacy Planning and I determined that a quick introduction to the Four Building Blocks was the best way to go. Here they are:

#1 - Personal Mission Statement - guides your daily and major life decisions;

#2 - Strategic Life Plan - puts purpose and direction with quantifiable goals and objectives tied to your personal mission;

#3 - Personal Legacy Statement - captures the most valued life lessons and experiences for future generations benefit; and,

#4 - Family Mission Statement - steers the family toward a unified course and mission capitalizing on the strength, richness and diversity of the whole as opposed to the one.

These are the four basic building blocks. I will come back to each in detail at a later point in time, stay tuned...

L.I.F.E.,

Don West, Jr.

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Historical Perspectives - My Maternal Great-Great-Great Grandfather - Abram Lee

This information about my great-great-great-grandfather was provided to me through his granddaughter and my great-great aunt Olive Lee Banks of Conshohocken, PA via my maternal aunt Linda Holmes Johnson of Wilingboro, NJ. Thanks for the great info ladies!

Abram Lee was born a slave in February 1847, (I too was born in February, only 127 years later). When Abram was a little boy and still a slave, the madam of the plantation killed his brother with the heel of her shoe by beating him to death. Young Abram witnessed his brother's death firsthand. Abram’s slave surname was Slaughter. When he was a little boy, he was sold to another master and separated from his mother and siblings. When he was set free, he tried to find his mother and siblings but could not. He changed his name from Slaughter to Lee.

Abram was about twelve years old when he saw President Abraham Lincoln in person. He remembered that the Quakers were very kind to the slaves and many of their homes and meeting places were stations for the Underground Railroad. The Quakers believed that slavery was evil and wrong.

During slavery, the slaves were not allowed to congregate openly because the master was afraid they were planning to escape. Instead, they would gather together in a slave cabin to sing and pray. They would take a large black iron pot and turn it upside down on the floor of the cabin. This would absorb the sound so the master could not hear them. The spirituals they would sing were actually signals about the Underground Railroad. The songs would tell where and when the “train” would be leaving.

Abram Lee married Agnes Ball. They had 13 children. The youngest child, who was a girl, died as a baby. Poppa, Marshall William Lee, was the youngest child of the 12 and the only one to become a Baptist Preacher.

(It was Reverened Marshall W. Lee who built a church in Conshohocken, PA, and it was in this church that Rev. Lee married my parents in 1973 and Christened me as a baby in 1974.)

Abram and Agnes moved from Plains, Virginia in 1890 when Poppa was four years old. They moved to Conshohocken, Pa. Abram was a local preacher which meant he would cover for the pastor of the church if he were away or ill. He worked in a steel mill at John Woods in Conshohocken, Pa.

In 1905, Abram purchased two houses on East Sixth Avenue in Conshohocken. The addresses were 350 and 352 East Sixth Avenue.

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Preparing for One-Ninety-One Club Event

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Who needs Legacy & Estate Planning

Contrary to popular belief, Legacy & Estate Planning isn't just for millionaires - it's for anyone who cares about what happens to their assets after they pass or who desires to leave a record for future generations to be able to access.

That said, Legacy & Estate Planning is particularly important for people in a number of basic life situations:

Married Couples: Each spouse must have a separate will. Joint wills can create legal issues if you both pass within a few weeks or months of each other.

Divorced Couples: Make sure your assets go to the "right" people, especially if you'd prefer that they not go to your former spouse's new partner and his or her children. To protect your own children, you may need to establish a trust.

Business Owners: Create a succession plan that specifies what should happen to your business, or your equity in the business, if you become incapacitated or pass away. Be sure that the business has enough cash on hand to survive the transition to new ownership.

Future Millionaires: Currently, the estate tax provides an exemption for estates valued at $2 million or less (it will rise to $3.5 million in 2009). This exemption has historically been $1 million and will most likely revert to that level in the year 2011. As a general guideline, if your estate currently totals $1 million or more - or has a strong prospect of exceeding $1 million in value during your lifetime - you should establish trusts to protect assets you may have beyond the $1 million benchmark.

(Special note: Many people are not aware that life insurance proceeds are included in your taxable gross estate and should be included when calculating potential estate tax liabilities.)

Professional Athletes: The unique demands and rewards of excelling as a professional athlete create unique needs and opportunities for both estate and legacy planning. Most sports stars understand the necessity to protect their hard earned dollars, but often fail to receive proper advice and counsel from those charged with directing their affairs. From issues of caring for your family and loved ones to handling the affairs of off-the-field ventures and charitable foundations require the consultation of expert counsel.

Entertainers & Artists: Those who hold valuable intellectual property rights, (copyrights, trademarks, etc.), or derive income from royalty payments need to consider special plans to deal with these unique issues.

SOURCE:
We offer many thanks to the talented hand of Robert Weber whose work was originally published in The New Yorker August 16, 1999.

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New Lessons from an Old Tale

There are numerous lessons that can be learned from Wiley's adaptation of this popular fairy tale.
Lesson #1
Wiley's humorous rendition serves as a subtle reminder that predators lurk wherever opportunity presents itself, including the Legacy & Estate Planning realms.
Lesson #2
To prevent falling prey to the proverbial "wicked wolf" you should become familiar with the basic principles of choosing a trusted adviser for the preparation of your actual estate plan. [Learn more here] This person, most often, is not the Executor or Trustee who will be in charge of carrying out the plan when the time comes.
Lesson #3
Many people put intense amounts of time and energy into drafting a properly conceived plan and then fail to address perhaps the most important issue of them all, who will be in charge of fulfilling your wishes and instructions when the time comes. Choosing the proper Executor or Trustee for your estate is essential. As illustrated by music legend Ray Charles [see post] all of your well-laid plans can be thwarted if the wrong person or institution is put in charge of your affairs.
Lesson #4
Care and consideration should be given in authorizing a Power of Attorney. A Durable Power of Attorney can be an extremely useful tool in planning for incapacity and/or making decisions regarding life support and health care issues. Prior to authorizing a Power of Attorney, you should discuss your intentions with your Estate Planner to better provide direction and the extent of the powers necessary to be granted in order to achieve your true intentions.
Lesson #5
Just like the example of this comic strip, make sure to have fun in the process of planning your estate and truly take the time to celebrate your life and your legacy that you are leaving to your next generations and the world.

SOURCE:
We offer many thanks to the creative mind of Wiley Miller and his comic strip NON SEQUITOR. If you would like to see more of Wiley's work feel free to check out: Wiley's Non Sequitur Homepage

REPRINTED FROM SUNDAY COMICS 8-12-2007

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The Legacy of Ray Charles - A Musical Genius

I found this article in the Los Angeles Times entitled Ray Charles' children battle over his legacy. The article demonstrates some of the potential pitfalls of organizing a well thought out plan, but not thinking through possible troubles not utilizing a corporate trustee may cause. Earlier this month we posted an article exploring the wisdom of using a corporate trustee to manage your trusts. (Click here to view: Six Reasons Why You Might Need to Consider Utilizing a Corporate Trustee)
Read the L.A. Times article and please share your thoughts on the situation of the Charles children and the choices Mr. Charles made in finalizing his legacy.

The Charles estate has several examples of how a plan failed to meet the objectives of its creator, here are two more issues that jumped out at me right away:

1. Talking to your heirs about your estate plan can sometimes just is not enough. (especially when the family structure is complicated and/or the estate is substantial).

2. If an estate plan involves the creation of a private charitable foundation, governance issues are doubly important.


1. Talking to your heirs about your estate plan can sometimes just is not enough.

If Ray Charles had engaged in preparing a strategic legacy plan to accompany his estate plan he clearly would have avoided the horrible situation that currently exists for his children. During the legacy planning process Ray would have documented his final thoughts and wishes beyond the estate planning documents. Ray's plan could have detailed why he created the family foundation and his wishes for how he desired his musical legacy to be used creatively in the future.

But what happened in reality is far removed from the above suggested result. Instead Ray simply gave an oral rendition to a varied audience who each had the ability to misunderstand, mis-remember, or have no recall of the details whatsoever.

Shortly before Christmas 2002, Ray Charles called a meeting of his 12 children at a hotel near Los Angeles International Airport. Ten of the twelve attended, ranging in age from 16 to 50 -- with 10 mothers among them -- they all listened as their father told them he was mortally ill and outlined what they could expect from his fortune.

Most of Charles' assets would be left to his charitable foundation. But $500,000 had been placed in trusts for each of the children to be paid out over the next five years, according to people at the meeting and a trust document.

Yet Charles' description left so much to the imagination that some of the children came away with the impression that he meant to leave them $1 million each. Charles also hinted that there would be more for them "down the line," which some interpreted to mean they would inherit the right to license his name and likeness for profit.

The confusion and contention that resulted from that family gathering, the only time so many of the children met with their father as a group, helps explain what has happened since. Charles exercised iron control over his music and recordings, but his legacy is in disarray, knotted up in legal disputes between the estate's management and his family members, according to interviews, court documents and correspondence from the California attorney general's office.

2. If an estate plan involves the creation of a private charitable foundation, governance issues are doubly important.

Governance issues are especially important when it comes to private foundations because after the founder is dead, generally speaking no one other than the state attorney has standing to step in and make sure the foundation is being properly run. And just because it's a charity don't assume the sins of humanity are somehow banished from its hallowed halls, as reported by NY Times reporter Stephanie Strom in Report Sketches Crime Costing Billions: Theft From Charities. The following excerpt from the linked-to LA Times piece makes clear the Ray Charles private foundation may be many things, but a beacon of good governance it's not:

In February 2006, Adams' stewardship of the foundation was questioned by Deputy Atty. Gen. Wendi A. Horwitz. After learning that Adams was serving simultaneously as chairman, president and treasurer of the foundation -- in violation of state law -- she gave Adams 30 days to comply. He appointed a new treasurer and a few months later added a majority of independent outsiders to the board.

The attorney general's office never took public action against the foundation. In December, Adams resigned as president of the foundation and of Ray Charles Enterprises. He was succeeded by Ivan Hoffman, a lawyer who had worked with the estate. However, a receptionist at Ray Charles Enterprises said last week that Hoffman was not currently its president. Hoffman and a company spokesman declined to comment.

Adams still exercises power at the organizations, the lawsuit filed by Den Bok alleges. It is unclear whether he still holds any formal titles. A spokesman for Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, who succeeded Lockyer in 2006, had no comment.

Link to L.A. Times Article: Here

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Historical Perspectives - A Piece of My Family's Personal History - Blair House, Washington, DC

My great aunt Lilian Brock Brown worked for many years at the Blair House in Washington, D.C. Lilian was my father's mother's sister. She was one of thirteen children who were born and raised in Culpepper, Virginia. The Blair house is the official guest residence of the President of the United States of America. Lilian offered her services as an extraordinary cook to some of our nation's most distinguished visitors during her tenure at the Blair House.

ABOVE: Blair House exterior view circa 1945

Since 1942, the Blair House has served the nation as a guest house for heads of state visiting the White House. In this role it plays a crucial part in American foreign policy. An invitation to visit the United States and stay at Blair House is an extraordinary honor for a foreign head of state, and the staff at Blair House works tirelessly to ensure that the visit is gracious, comfortable, and conveys the honor to which any head of state—a president, a prime minister, or a reigning monarch—is entitled. In fact, during a foreign leader's stay at Blair House, the flag of that leader's nation flies over Blair House, and Blair House serves as a de facto diplomatic mission of that nation.



ABOVE: Blair House interior view circa 1945

This courtesy helps to make a visit—whether a ceremonial appearance or a matter of truly global significance—a comfortable experience for our nation's official guests. In the context of American foreign affairs, the comfort of a stay at Blair House can actually be a matter of national importance!

Learn more about Blair House:

The Official Blair House Site

The Blair House on Wikipedia

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Legacy & Estate Planning Basics

Legacy and estate planning can be combined to guide and direct future generations while also helping you preserve your hard-earned assets and ensure that they go where you want them to go after you pass on.

By purposefully plotting your generational impact you can save your family and heirs considerable time, expense and potential grief by eliminating uncertainty about inheritance.

In the legacy planning process a you are given an opportunity to teach and offer hard-earned life experiences that helped shape your life and guide your destiny. The old saying, “If you give a person a fish you feed them for a day, but if you teach a person to fish they can eat for a lifetime,” is a common theme drawn upon daily by many successful clients who worry about the well being and preparedness of their future generations.

Seventy percent of Americans do not have a will. Unless you would like to donate your estate to Uncle Sam, it is time to join the thirty percent who do. Though writing a will may not be fun to think about, a little foresight now will save your heirs and loved ones enormous hassles down the road. In this series on legacy and estate planning you will learn to:

• Understand the basics of wills, trusts, probate, legacy statements, charitable giving, and more.
• Set up power of attorney, a living will, and long-term care arrangements
• Minimize the impact of estate and inheritance taxes on your heirs

Warren Buffet has drawn much attention and praise for his comments regarding his own children’s inheritance, “"The perfect amount of money to leave children is enough money so that they would feel they could do anything, but not so much that they could do nothing."

This attitude has been embraced by young professionals and baby boomers alike as well as the middle class. Only by planning your estate now can you be sure that all your wishes will be known and respected when you pass away.

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Next Article - What is Legacy Planning? - Coming Soon
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Below is an associated Power Point presentation on Legacy & Estate Planning Basics to supplement the above article:

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Learn more about the Axis How to Do It Series

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You have a Living Trust, who acts as Trustee?

Six Reasons for Why You Might Need to Use a Corporate Trustee

Over the years in my work planning for affluent clients, I have often recommended the use of a corporate trustee. It is not common that a client’s initial decision regarding the trustee often is the eldest or most responsible or successful child or grandchild. There is often a notion in the client’s choice that there is some honor or distinction associated with naming a loved one as trustee, but upon a further understanding of the complexity of the issues and the work involved with acting as a proper trustee, the client recognizes the value and strategic logic of choosing a corporate trustee.

Some may ask, what is the typical threshold when a corporate trustee is right for a client? This obviously must be handled on a case by case basis, but as a general rule of thumb when a client’s net worth is above $1,000,000 (a common minimum asset requirement for corporate trustees), the benefits and cost of utilizing a corporate trustee far outweigh any potential negatives and the burdens placed on a loved-one forced to sit in the trustee position based on an improperly held notion or idea.

In every conversation with an Axis Legacy & Trusts client we present the following six reasons why a corporate trustee should be considered when the total value of assets exceeds $1,000,000. The client is often shocked to see how quickly their assets can total a million dollars because in an estate planning sense you must include the value of your home, life insurance polices, IRA’s, and investments. Additionally, many financial professionals are aware that advanced planning strategies become necessary as assets approach the 2008 annual estate tax exclusion limits of $2,000,000.

Six Reasons to Use a Corporate Trustee.

1. Complex Trust Law and Frequent Trust Litigation.

The primary and most fundamental reason we stress to our clients is the complex and advance legal nature of many of the issues and procedures that a trustee will ultimately be responsible. The Florida Probate and Trust Statutes have page after page of legal requirements and duties, all of which may lead to a lawsuit and personal liability on the part of the trustee if not followed to the “t”. A client is not honoring their family member, family friend, or child by naming them trustee. Rather, they are often causing them unnecessary work and frustration.

Often a client will instinctively choose a child or other family member to serve as trustee. In far too many instances this choice is often not the right one, and leads to problems. The choice of the eldest or most accomplished child as trustee will often lead to jealousy and bickering by other siblings, as they feel not only slighted by not being chosen trustee, but angry that their sibling now has so much control over their financial affairs. This commonly leads to litigation, and frustration on the part of the trustee, who wishes they had never been selected in the first place. Instead of a child, clients often choose another individual family member or friend to serve as trustee. This choice is also wrought with the same problems discussed above.

2. Asset Protection.

We have many clients come to us with a previously prepared estate plans, unfortunately, many trust based estate plans I see come across my desk call for a child to serve as trustee, and distribute inheritances outright to their siblings upon the death of their parents.

While this type of trust avoids probate, it fails to accomplish any level of asset protection for the beneficiaries. When ever a new client has a plan like this we recommend they consider installing a corporate trustee and restructure to the distribution mechanism.

We offer that a better idea would be to leave the trust principal in trust under the direction of a corporate trustee for the duration of the child’s life, with asset protection provisions to ensure that if the child is sued, gets divorced, or goes bankrupt; their inheritance will still be there for them. If an inheritance is distributed outright to a child, the asset protection is lost. If the child serves as sole trustee of their own trust, the asset protection is minimized. Affluent clients routinely pay tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to set up offshore asset protection trusts to protect their own assets. Shouldn’t they do the same for their children, at a fraction of the cost?

3. Professional Guidance.

When you hire a corporate trust officer you have the benefit of an entire institution as opposed to a single individual or family member. Some of the most reputable corporate trust companies have been in business for more than 100 years and have reputations and track records that can be researched and compared. The employees of these companies are often some of the best and brightest professionals in the finance and legal worlds.

Most trust officers I come into contact with are law school graduates, often licensed to practice law and with advanced degrees such as an LLM in Taxation. These individuals often have worked for years as an estate planning attorney prior to their positions acting as a corporate trustee. In addition, they have the assistance of many other qualified financial advisors at their disposal. This ensures that the trust assets will be safe, the trust will be properly administered, and the beneficiaries will get quality financial advice. The administration of a trust is extremely complicated. Tax returns must be filed, accountings must be done, and many notices must be sent. Most clients want their children and loved ones to have their inheritance properly administered and invested. It is difficult to match the expertise and competency of corporate trustee.

4. Beneficiaries will retain some control.

Almost all conversations follow the same road map. After we move past the first three points a client will sit back in their chair and say, “That all sounds fine, but I don’t like the idea of someone else, a stranger having control over my kids inheritance.” And every time it is acknowledged that this is a very rational position to take. However, perhaps it is best where you don’t choose an absolute and move completely to one side or another, but perhaps take the strong points of both sides and try to find a solution in the middle. A client’s loved ones can get all three of the benefits described above, while allowing the client and their loved ones the ability to retain some power over the corporate trustee; to “pull back the reigns”, if you will.

A couple examples of how this might be achieved:

#1 – Appointment of a Trust Protector.

The client can choose a trust friend or non-conflicted advisor to serve as a trust protector if so desired. A Trust Protector serves in a non-fiduciary role, and is able to monitor the actions of the trustee, and replace the trustee if necessary. As trust protector, they will retain some control over the actions of the trustee, while at the same time not being subjected to the threat of lawsuits and administrative hassles of a trustee.

#2 – Ability to Remove the Corporate Trustee.

A client can give their children the ability to replace the trustee, or even the ability to become a co-trustee at a certain age. Most clients agree that the ability to remove the hassle and liability of serving as a trustee, while giving their loved ones a good deal of control over the trust, is a great benefit.

5. Cost is really minimal in the long run.

Most corporate trustees charge an annual fee of between 1% and 2% of the assets in the trust. This fee does not start until the corporate trustee actually begins serving, which is usually at the death of all creators of the trust. If the children were to receive the money outright, without a trust, and invest the funds with a financial professional, the fee would often be 1%. In the long run, the corporate trustee is a wise investment.

6. Children often blow their inheritance.

This is placed last for a reason. I do not like bringing this up to clients. Clients often do not like to hear the reality that their children may blow their inheritance. Yet the reality is clear that most inheritances, if received outright, are consumed within 1 year. This realization may be hard for clients to comprehend, but the evidence is clear that in order for a beneficiary to receive the most benefit from their inheritance over their lifetime, an independent trustee is necessary. It is possible to then employ spendthrift safeguards that will protect the corpus of the inheritance and help insure a lasting legacy.

Respectfully submitted by:

Donald L. West, Jr., JD, CTEP
Chartered Trust Estate & Planner

http://www.donwestjr.com/

Don West, Jr. counsels families, individuals and entities on the principles of generational legacy and wealth transfer as a Vice President and Trust Officer for Axis Legacy Planning & Trusts, P.L., an elite wealth management firm with a unique planning philosophy of promoting "Healthy & Sustained Family Wealth" with offices in Atlanta, Georgia and four Florida locations: Tallahassee, Tampa, Palm Beach and Miami.

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Establishing Your Legacy - Beyond an Inheritence

Many people have begun to seek a greater purpose to their lives and their generational impact into the future.

This realization has led to a shift in recent times where both wealthy and Middle Class Americans are more and more shifting away from providing their children with as much of an inheritance as possible, and focusing on establishing the meaning of their life's work and its resulting wealth and passing on values as well as assets.

Below is an excellent New York Times article on the subject:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/business/businessspecial3/18family.html?ex=1206504000&en=5acd31116e5eb3c3&ei=5070&emc=eta1

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Giving the Gift of Legacy

Have you ever stopped to wonder what gift your children or grandchildren would most value from you long after you are gone? The answer may be simply your story. Nothing could be more priceless to a child than to read and reflect on words of a loved one, drafted to transmit a three-dimensional perspective in a two-dimensional note. Not everyone can pass along a financial legacy, but everybody can transmit some of the richness of life by creating a Legacy Statement.

A Legacy Statement is a lovely ancient custom, one that is unfortunately not sufficiently known in our time. Typically, parents would write a letter to their children, in which, they would try to sum up all that they had learned in life, and, in which they would try to express what they wanted most for and from their children. They would leave these letters behind because they believed that the wisdom they had acquired was just as much a part of the legacy they wanted to leave their children as were all the material possessions.

The first Legacy Statements are found in the Bible. Jacob gathers his children around his bedside and tries to tell them the way in which they should live after he is gone. And Moses makes a farewell address, chastising, prophesying, and instructing his people before he dies. David prepares Solomon before he goes to his eternal rest by warning him whom to be wary of when he becomes king, and by asking him to complete the task he had begun and was unable to complete.

A Legacy Statement, also called an Ethical Will, is not unlike the stories recorded for Superman by his loving parents - offering guidance and wisdom on life's situations far after they were available to offer such counsel personally. You are much richer than the sum of your material assets, yet your legal and financial papers address will only address the question, "What do I want my loved ones to have?" Your Legacy Statement addresses: "What do I want them to know?" A Legacy Statement is not a legal document; rather, it compliments your legal documents. Perhaps you are in a situation where you need to draft your legal documents and a Legacy Statement to protect the ones you love. If you have any questions call our office and we will assist you.

You work very diligently to achieve successes, large and small, you should devote the same attention to leave all of the things you value to those you love.

* The value of your story in your words.
* The value of your insights.
* The thoughts and methods employed in developing your planning and distributions.
* The value of your love and feelings for those dear to you.

A personal legacy statement can capture all if these treasures and pass them on to the next generations.

Legacy Statements may be one of the most cherished and meaningful gifts you can leave to your family and community. But a Legacy Statement is not an easy thing to write. In doing so, one confronts oneself. One must look inward to see what are the essential truths one has learned in a lifetime, face up to one's failures, and consider what are the things that really count. Thus an individual learns a great deal about himself or herself when writing an Legacy Statement. If you had time to write just one letter, to whom would it be addressed? What would it say? What would you leave out? Would you chastise and rebuke? Would you thank, forgive, or seek to instruct?

Conversely, a Legacy Statement is not an easy thing to read. There is a sense of being a voyeur, of eavesdropping on an intimate conversation, of reading a love letter from the beyond. Those who read these documents should do so with reverence and with gratitude. The words of those we have loved can be powerful reminders and create unforeseen emotional reactions. A wise reader will consume the information as an adult engage in mature conversation with another adult. The sum total of one's earthly existence can prove completely invaluable to many future generations.

What should a Legacy Statement contain?

The contents will vary from person to person, but here are some starting points:

* Your beliefs and opinions
* Important events in your life
* Things you did to act on your values
* Something you learned from your grandparents, parents, siblings, spouse and/or children
* Something you learned from personal experience
* Something you are grateful for
* Your hopes for the future

If you are willing to make the effort and invest your time in a priceless gift, your energy and effort should be valued by generations to come. I personally invite you to embark on a challenging adventure and wish you happy writing!

Respectfully submitted by:

Donald L. West, Jr., JD, CTEP
Chartered Trust Estate & Planner

http://www.donwestjr.com/

Don West, Jr. counsels families, individuals and entities on the principles of generational legacy and wealth transfer as a Vice President and Trust Officer for Axis Legacy Planning & Trusts, P.L., an elite wealth management firm with a unique planning philosophy of promoting "Healthy & Sustained Family Wealth" with offices in Atlanta, Georgia and four Florida locations: Tallahassee, Tampa, Palm Beach and Miami.

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