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 »

Tony and Gail McWilliams spoke at our church a couple of weeks ago. This is their story.

When she was still a teenager, Gail was told that, as a result of an illness she suffered when she was nine, she would never be able to bear children.

But she and Tony got married and eventually–wonder of wonders–she became pregnant. There were complications that threatened their baby’s life. It’s a story worth telling. But I want to concentrate on another theme.

While she was pregnant, Gail’s eyes began to hemorrhage and she lost some of her eyesight.

A few years later, when she became pregnant again, Gail’s eyes hemorrhaged even more. And so, at three and a half months into her pregnancy, she found herself confronted by a doctor.

“Gail,” he said, “you have to choose today between your baby and your eyes. Which will you keep?”

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I read two books while on vacation the last couple of weeks: Preparing Heirs: Five Steps to a Successful Transition of Family Wealth and Values by Roy Williams and Vic Preisser, and Family Wealth: How Family Members and Their Advisers Preserve Human, Intellectual, and Financial Assets for Generations, by James E. Hughes, Jr.

Preparing Heirs goes into depth about the research behind a number one of our advisors mentioned to us: in a study of 3,250 families with significant financial assets, 70% of them failed to transfer their assets successfully to the next generation. What does that mean? They either lost all their money, or they found that the money destroyed family relationships. It blew the family apart in the inheriting generation.

When I read Preparing Heirs, I thought it provided some good insights, especially into the causes of failure. Read the rest of this entry »