Creating a Legacy: Achieve More through Purposeful Planning
Legacy planning is about more than passing on wealth to the next generation. At Vance Wealth, it’s also about passing on the stories, lessons and values that allowed you to accumulate your wealth in the first place.
“That’s how you build a legacy to last,” explained John Vance, President of Vance Wealth. “In fact, many of the skills needed for purposeful legacy planning have nothing to do with money at all.”
If families want to grow together, and work toward a shared set of goals and values, then it’s crucial to establish a cohesive sense of family harmony – a process for talking through sensitive or difficult topics while still holding firm their collective vision for the future.
“Once we have the numbers figured out, we help our clients foster the closeness, connection and conversations that help families make decisions together,” John shared. “With the right communication and approach, we can ensure everyone has a voice in the decisions that impact them.”
To support families in their pursuit of a purpose-driven legacy, the Fidelity Center for Family Engagement (FCFE) identified some leading indicators of enduring family harmony. Here are some non-financial elements that are essential to successful and sustainable legacy planning.
1. Meaningful Dialogue
When it comes to money conversations, dialogue means engaging and understanding each other's perspectives, exploring the impact of decisions, and aligning around interests and outcomes. By learning to discuss these topics in a meaningful way – as wishes, fears, lifestyle choices, values, impact and fulfillment – you can create shared meaning, enrich your relationships through time, and safeguard against unintended outcomes.
2. Shared Stories
We are shaped by our family stories and experiences. How our families think and talk about money over time becomes an important part of that story. It’s a touchstone for multiple generations, and if developed with care, it can help build a shared sense of understanding and connection that helps sustain a family legacy through many generations.
Begin by talking through your stories around spending, saving, investing, helping and gifting, planning for the future, and passing money on. Listen to family members without interpretation or judgment. Hear the successes and failures, the pain and healing, the good and the bad. The most successful family stories integrate and honor multiple viewpoints to bind people together.
3. Aligned Purpose
When your family shares meaningful conversations, stories and experiences, those bonds can build into a shared identity and, ultimately, a collective purpose. By listening to each family member’s wishes, we can help construct a shared vision and a safe space for families to be vulnerable, honest and compassionate throughout the process. Then we can discuss what it means to trust the process – accepting that there will be obstacles and challenges – while still achieving your shared vision.
If you’re struggling to pass on the communication, trust and values that helped you build your wealth, we are here to help you start a new dialogue. With our purpose-driven process and methodical approach, we can help you establish a framework that builds and protects your legacy for generations to come.
Ready to build a stronger sense of family harmony today? Get started with our legacy planning worksheet at vancewealth.com/family-legacy-worksheet-download. To schedule a complimentary consultation, please contact our office at 661-775-0950.
