A young lady, just graduated last year from the University of Kentucky, a former Sonlight Curriculum student, wrote a beautiful remembrance of her grandparents on her mother’s side.

I asked her for permission to reprint a portion of it here. I thought it illustrated so well the kinds of things those of us on the giving end might want to consider: What do we do that could create unique and memorable family traditions? How would we like to be remembered?

Read this story and tell me how it inspires you: Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve touched on it before. I have no question I will be writing about it again. This, perhaps more than anything else, is what distinguishes legacy planning from estate planning: the content of what some call the “ethical will,” and others refer to as a person’s “testament” or “legacy letter” or what our second legacy planner called the “family wealth letter of intent.” It’s the device–or collection of devices: written, audio, video, or other–that conveys to members of future generations the special messages the estate plan donor wants them to know and remember, the stories of the people and events that shaped their lives, the special life lessons, the heart of the donor. Read the rest of this entry »

I stumbled onto a page that promotes a service offered by The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America: The Living Balance Sheet™–what I will call the TLBS. Pretty impressive!

In essence, the TLBS seeks to place all your financial and legacy planning information into one electronic/online repository, a repository that you can securely access anytime, anywhere–”even” by Blackberry/Treo if that is your preference.

What particularly intrigues me is Read the rest of this entry »

Our estate planning attorney feels very confident about his ability to structure documents that will take care of all contingencies into the future. And so, when he drafted our original documents 10 years ago, he included a number of elements that are characterized as “irrevocable.” Sadly, neither Sarita nor I had any idea what these documents would mean.

Oh, we understood their intent. But since our attorney was so convinced (and convincing!) that irrevocability made our assets much safer than if we created more flexible structures; and because he didn’t ask us the kinds of questions I am learning to ask now; and since our wealth was very much less than it is today . . . we could not imagine the decisions we were making at that time might have the kinds of dramatic implications they might now (supposing our investments’ values were to grow at even a few percentage per year for the next two, three, or four decades or more). But now, we are told, there is little, if anything, we can do to reverse the decisions we made 10 years ago. Read the rest of this entry »

David Wills, president of The National Christian Foundation, commented, “The average age at which a woman becomes a widow in the United States today is 57 years old.”

If there is any truth to that assertion (and the U.S. Census Bureau says it is (see Table 5, p. 11, on the referenced document); the age at widowhood for first marriages is 57.8, to be exact!), his follow-up comment deserves careful consideration: “Gentlemen, you have to redefine progeny. Progeny, for you, is your wife, your children, and your grandchildren.” And the implication: Read the rest of this entry »

ADDENDUM as of 2/5/09: While I am still excited about the materials I discuss in this post, it is with great sadness that I feel compelled to note I have discovered there are reasons for caution with respect to the sources referenced herein. With respect to Vision Forum Ministries, I call your attention to the series of articles at Ministry Watchman and Jen’s Gems. And with respect to Geoff Botkin, see Who is Geoffrey Botkin? at the Under Much Grace blog.

[Continued discussion of Vision Forum Ministries' program titled The 200 Year Plan: A Practicum on Multi-Generational Faithfulness.]

I find it difficult to think even five years ahead. So how can I begin thinking 200 years into the future of my family? One secret: just begin! Start writing! Read the rest of this entry »

Of course, we’re all familiar with “Joe the Plumber,” the icon of the McCain presidential campaign for the last few weeks. Dr. Stanley Fish, a professor of law at Florida International University, Miami, and dean emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, wrote a moving tribute to–or memoir, character sketch, brief biography of–his father that appeared on yesterday’s New York Times Opinion page. The article was called “Max the Plumber.”

When I got finished with it, I wondered: What’s the legacy I will leave to my children and grandchildren when it comes to the stories they know of me and the images that will stick in their minds? What will they say of me when I’m gone? . . . And can I do anything that might help improve their understanding of who I am and what I wanted to be all about? Read the rest of this entry »

ADDENDUM as of 2/5/09: While I am still excited about the materials I discuss in this post, it is with great sadness that I feel compelled to note I have discovered there are reasons for caution with respect to the sources referenced herein. [Indeed, though I don't think our daughter, who is mentioned in this post, was aware of the depth of the issues, clearly, she was "on the alert." --I guess I'm suggesting you, too, should probably be on the alert.] With respect to Vision Forum Ministries and Doug Phillips, I call your attention to the series of articles at Ministry Watchman and Jen’s Gems. And with respect to Geoff Botkin, see Who is Geoffrey Botkin? at the Under Much Grace blog.

[Continued discussion of Vision Forum Ministries' program titled The 200 Year Plan: A Practicum on Multi-Generational Faithfulness.]

Start talking about a 200-year plan, and you may find yourself faced with some major opposition! Here’s the story of my first opposition. Read the rest of this entry »