Three fundamental estate planning/legacy planning questions

From a financial or physical wealth perspective, there are three questions every estate plan donor must answer:

How many of the resources God has placed in our hands do we need in order to live our lives as we believe we ought?
How many of the resources God has placed in our hands do our heirs need in order to help them live their lives as we would want them to be able to live?
And,
Who or what (or what causes) do we want to receive what’s left over?

Put another way:

How much (for ourselves)?
How much (for our heirs)?
And,
Where (for everthing else)?

These are not questions your attorney can or should answer for you.

Monday, at lunch, I met with a young attorney who has expressed interest in focusing on the estate planning/legacy planning field. He said that attorneys, from the very start, are urged strongly and repeatedly to avoid trying to influence clients one way or another. More or less, he said, “We are taught to let the client determine what we should do. It is not our role as attorneys to tell them what they should do.”

“And yet,” I replied, “Clearly you do influence clients. And you seek to influence them. And you offer no apologies for your behavior.

“You have told me: When people come in to your office and want to sue . . . you will often try to dissuade them. You will ask pertinent questions about their real purpose and interest. ‘Is this proposed suit something that will advance your purpose and interests? Or could it possibly harm your interests? . . . If it might harm your interests, why are you wanting to pursue it? . . .’ And part of your purpose is to help your clients–appropriately–sort out motives and purposes and real goals. . . . You don’t want them to pursue something solely for the (potentially very empty) ’satisfaction’ of achieving some kind of revenge . . . all while destroying themselves.”

My companion agreed. That is exactly what he does.

“So, too, it seems to me, with legacy planning. You can and should help your clients by asking them pertinent questions they might not ask–because they are actually unable to ask (because they don’t know the questions to ask!).”

I ventured further: “My sense: If you don’t ask the questions, you–or some other attorney–will answer the questions for the clients. You will direct your clients based on your assumptions and presuppositions about what you think they would want. . . .”

And what are those assumptions and presuppositions?

–More in my next post!

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Third in a series of posts inspired by a presentation by Jay Link of Kardia Family Wealth Planning. Previous post in the series: Turning a children’s song on its head. First post in the series: Two family CEOs.

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