Leave a Legacy

People may not remember you 100 years after your death, but they can remember the principles that you believed in. Many parents are concerned about leaving wealth to their children because they don’t want to take away their motivation to achieve their own success. Instead of giving all of your wealth to your children, you can carefully select charities of your choice to pass your wealth to. When choosing a charity, be sure to discuss your wishes with them to ensure that they have the capacity to carry out the desires you’re leaving your money for.

Estate-planning attorneys can be helpful to clients in achieving their philanthropic goals. Currently, planners can help you take great advantage of tax laws and then they can change the plan if the law changes. Over the next forty years, more than $40 trillion will be transferred through estate plans that could help charities in some way.

See Bruce DeBoskey,  Estate Planning For Charity Can Shape Legacy, Denver Post, Oct. 30, 2011.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (WealthCounsel) for bringing this article to my attention.