I was reading a thread on the Sonlight Curriculum forums yesterday about the demise of the middle class. I will confess, I was dismayed to read about how little some of the participants on that forum are getting by on each year. But then I did a little research this morning using a tool my wife brought to my attention earlier this week: The Global Rich List.

As the people who put that site together explained in a recent blog post,

[T]he Global Rich List, launched in 2003, continues to surprise people with their unexpected financial ranking in the world – which makes them feel instantly better about their income, and in turn puts them in a much happier place to think about giving some of it to a good cause.

Where do you stand? I think you’ll be surprised!

And for those of us who are thinking about legacy–either legacy planning or, simply, passing on a legacy–I think it can be helpful to be surprised, to have our thinking expanded.

So, I’m curious: Does the websites result surprise you? Change your perception either of yourself or of the world? How do you think it may change your behavior?

I got thinking about the matter of my living will due to an article I read by a guy whose dad asked him to help him (the dad) kill himself.

I was astonished where my mind went.

I would appreciate receiving your input.

Please participate in the Strategic Inheritance Legacy Lounge Forum.

Thanks!

How do you change the way you think and feel and behave?

I’m not talking about the “oops!” kind of mind alteration–y’know, the revelatory, slap-your-forehead, “Oh! Of course! How could I have been so stupid!?!” mental shift.

I’m talking about knowing what you need to do–or, even, having a sneaking suspicion that you need to change your way of thinking, but not being able to turn on the light bulb in your brain–i.e., a mind-shift that requires real work. How do you make purposeful, premeditated alterations in your habits of mind, how you view the world, how you think, how you behave?

Legacy planning and estate planning, at its very root, I think, requires this kind of mental change. I mean, if you’re going to do a really good job at writing a plan, it takes more than a couple of hours of casual thinking to work out what you desire to achieve with your wealth; if you have young children: where you want them to go, who you want to take care of them, how you want them to be cared for, etc.; how you want to be cared for if, God forbid, you find yourself incapacitated and requiring long-term care or–forget you finding yourself incapacitated– . . . Suppose your relatives find you incapacitated and incapable of speech or communication: How shall they care for you?

These kinds of questions require some deep and serious thought. And even the most patient attorneys or other professionals–even if you could afford their fees–cannot draw your finessed thoughts out of you in a 2- or even 8-hour interview. And, I dare say, even a week-long retreat dedicated to these matters won’t quite do whatever-it-is you require to come to peace about your true thoughts and beliefs in these matters.

Hey. I’ve been working on my legacy plan–not full-time, but dedicating a few hours a week, on average–for close to three years, now. And, I am embarrassed to admit, my wife and I still haven’t gotten down to business on one of the most important pieces of the plan: the documentation (that would be so helpful to our executors) of where all our key papers are, the list of all our professional advisors, where our safe deposit boxes are and how to gain access, where all of our accounts are–and user names and passwords to gain access, etc., etc. Read the rest of this entry »

As I prepare for the inevitable, I am realizing how important it is to consolidate my records. I haven’t done this. I have plans . . . for what is to happen with my estate when I die. I have all the paperwork in order. Or so my advisors tell me.

But I haven’t prepared the kinds of records that will enable my survivors easily to tie up whatever loose ends my death will create. And that’s where Read the rest of this entry »

This isn’t something I had thought about before, but I just saw an article titled Tools for Managing Your Online Life After Death.

What happens to your Hotmail or Gmail account when you die? What about your online photo collections on Picasa or Flickr?

Answer: It depends. And some of it depends on you!

To give you an idea:

• Hotmail let’s relatives order a CD of all messages in the deceased users account on submission of a death certificate and proof of power of attorney.
   
• Gmail Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve posted the story of a major bequest that came to the brink of becoming worthless–or worse than worthless–to the recipients.

I imagine it’s a cautionary tale that many of us should pay attention to.

Check it out on the Strategic Inheritance forums . . . and join the conversation!

I described the technical differences between donor-advised funds (DAFs) and private foundations back in June of 2007. Frankly, at the time, I saw no compelling reason seriously to consider creating a DAF.

Following the FoundationWise^SM conference, however, I’m seeing more reasons than I did back then to consider this alternative. Read the rest of this entry »

I will confess: I’ve been dragging my feet. Not sure why. But I had to overcome the hurdle.

I have finally “turned on” the Strategic Inheritance Legacy Lounge forum and invite you to join what I hope will soon be a freewheeling and inspirational discussion of all things related to passing on a heritage from one generation to another.

Join us, won’t you?

Thanks!