Is your house big enough? Do you need more room? Will your family be happier in a bigger home?

I think my perspective on this issue was shaped a bit last week by a conversation I had with a few members of an American family that has lived and worked most of the time over the last nine years in the foothills of the Himalayas. Read the rest of this entry »

Find it difficult to be involved with your family? The first step to achieve balance in this area may be to value the goal. Read the rest of this entry »

How can you maximize the time your family spends together and maximize the transfer of values from one generation to another?

I got thinking about this when my sister mentioned that her family was bringing her in-laws (both in their 90s, and not necessarily the easiest people to get along with!) into their home for several weeks. How could that time be made as pleasant and profitable as possible?

One of the things we do in our family–even now, after the kids are grown and three of the four are married, and we have five grandkids: We read out loud together. We don’t watch TV. Every once in a while we will watch a movie. But for maximum mutual engagement, besides just plain talking with one another, we will read a book together out loud.

Sarita always suggests three or four books we might read when we’re headed off for vacation. The rest of us, then, together, make the final selection.

[I should note: Sarita has an uncanny ability to choose "the best of the best" when it comes to books. But, then, I guess, she ought to! After all, she reads over a dozen books a week, and she has been doing that for some 40 years or more.]

The books themselves, of course, offer tremendous value on their own. But they also offer another value: they inspire us to interact. We always seem to want to talk about what we’re reading.

Let me illustrate. Read the rest of this entry »

Our youngest son called me Tuesday evening to ask if I’d like to join him as he drives home from college in a week and a half. It means I have to buy a one-way plane ticket and take a couple of days out of my schedule. As long as the airfare wasn’t too high (what’s too high?), I decided, absolutely.

Sure enough, Southwest had a great fare. So we’re scheduled to go.

I’m excited.

Is it because sitting in a Toyota Corolla for 24 hours of driving over two days sounds like a lot of fun?

No. Rather, it’s because I expect our experience will be along the lines of something Kevin Swanson, executive director of Christian Home Educators of Colorado, said a couple of months ago. Read the rest of this entry »

In my last post, I noted that, going in to your estate planning process, you need to answer three fundamental questions:

1. How many of the resources God has placed in your hands do you need in order to live your life as you believe you ought?
    
2. How many of the resources God has placed in your hands will benefit your heirs to help them live their lives as you would like them to be able to live?

   And, finally,

3. To what causes do you want to give what’s left over?

I said that, if you walk in without answers to those three questions, I can almost guarantee that your estate planning attorney will answer those questions for you . . . based on assumptions he or she will make in your behalf.

And what might those assumptions look like?

Here’s my experience. Most estate planning attorneys will assume you want to minimize taxes and, upon your death, pass everything you’ve saved over the course of your life–as much as possible–to your heirs: your children and grandchildren.

And beyond that?

“No assumptions.” –What else could you possibly want?

Well, let me raise some questions to see if even these assumptions are really what you want.

And in this post I hope simply to address the assumption of estate-transfer timing: the idea that your estate should pass to your heirs at your death. Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

Shaila Dani, AP Money & Markets Writer, provides a wonderful, concise set of recommendations to help develop children’s “money-smarts” from the very youngest ages (how about beginning at three years old?).

Among her suggestions:

Under 4 years old Display a savings jar and put coins in it. Teach children to delay gratification by not immediately buying them what they ask for.

4, 5, 6 years old When your children ask for something, don’t give in right away. Instead, have them create a list of gifts for the future even using pictures.

Around 8 years Start an allowance but nominate one expense like candy or another treat your children want to spend money on. Then make a “contract” and sign it together. Also have them earmark some money for saving. Choose a share of a well-known company–Walt Disney, perhaps–and give your children pretend “stock certificates.” Have them track the stock’s performance to teach them about the market. . . .

Read more on Yahoo! News.