The Opportunity to Be a Positive Influence

If you stop and think about it, the idea that estate planning is “just about the money” is something of an insult.   Throughout our lives, we offer our loved ones so much more … our hopes and dreams … our knowledge and experience … our values and beliefs … lessons in responsibility, lessons in good citizenship.

Estate planning offers us a unique opportunity to remain a positive influence in the lives of our loved ones after we’re gone.   By building rewards and incentives into the plan of distribution, we can encourage actions and behaviors that will reflect a continuation of our values and beliefs in future generations.

We can go beyond merely making it financially possible for our children or grandchildren to continue their education.   We can encourage and reward them for putting forth the effort needed to do well.   Not only can we provide money that can be available to our children for retirement, we can encourage patterns of saving that will best assure that they will be financially stable in their retirement, and perhaps even offer them the opportunity for early retirement.   If some member of the family has struggled with alcohol or drugs, we can direct that some of their legacy be applied to get them the help necessary to maintain sobriety, and provide rewards to encourage the sorts of good behavior by which people earn our trust.

These, of course, are just examples.   None of them may apply in your situation.   It may even be that you do not need to provide any incentives to encourage your children or other loved ones to be good stewards of your legacy.   It’s your decision, your choice.

A core concept of Better Estate Planning is that every client’s circumstances, needs and goals are unique and individual to that client.   Our job is to focus on you, and to develop for you an estate plan that will best help you achieve your planning goals.

We treat every client as our most important client.   We do everything we can to make sure your estate plan brings you the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your loved ones will benefit, not just from your money, but also from your wisdom, foresight and values.

 

---

printable version

Click on the "printable version" up above and a new browser window will open. Simply hit the print button on the browser to print out your own hard copy. If you have any problems with the file, please contact us and we will get one to you!

If you have problems seeing the printable version after clicking on the above link, you may need to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click the button below and follow the directions. If you still need assistance, don't hesitate to contact us.