Changing What Legacy Means

Has the recession changed our society for better? A recent survey has revealed that a vast majority of the baby boomers generation would list that “family stories” are important to their legacies than their material possessions. In fact, three-fourths of the baby boomers surveyed thought that they had no duty to leave any financial legacy at all. The survey’s creator, Allianz, added “family stories” to its list of pillars that form a well-rounded legacy. The other three are: instructions and wishes, personal belongings, and financial assets.

In comparison, it’s relatively easy to structure how a person’s property should be divided upon death; however, it is not as easy to determine how to divide values that a family cherishes together among individuals in the family. This becomes especially difficult when these values are represented through mementos or other items that represent something special to several members of the family. A family might want to consider discussing these issues with every person in the family to determine what is important to whom. A family might also want to consider engaging in tasks that further build upon their memories, such as scrap booking or writing letters.

See Dan Kadlec, How to Give Heirs What They Most Want (It Won’t Cost Much), Time, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.