While ensuring that tangible possessions are handled according to your wishes is typically addressed in a conventional estate plan, your estate planning goals may extend beyond the distribution of physical assets. You might also seek to pass down intangible concepts that transcend material wealth, such as values, principles, convictions, and faith, which have significantly influenced and guided your life. The good news is that you can incorporate these non-material aspects into your estate plan, effectively passing down your legacy alongside your tangible assets. To help you get started, an Indianapolis attorney at Frank & Kraft discusses how to pass down your legacy in your estate plan.
Understanding Legacy Planning
When you think about estate planning, you likely think about a plan for the distribution of assets such as real estate and personal property. These assets represent the material wealth accumulated throughout your lifetime. While it is crucial to establish a traditional estate plan to govern the handling of these assets after your passing, such plans often neglect the deeply rooted values, principles, and beliefs that hold great significance to you and that you wish to instill in future generations. Legacy planning can help you do just that. Legacy planning recognizes that your life’s journey is not just about material wealth and success but also about the profound intangible assets that have guided you throughout your life. There is no need to create a separate plan to pass down your legacy. Instead, you can simply incorporate strategies and tools into your existing estate plan to encompass the legacy you hope to pass on.
Incorporating Your Legacy into Your Estate Plan
How do you get started with legacy planning? A good place to start is by reflecting on the legacy you aspire to leave behind. Consider the ideals, beliefs, philosophies, principles, morals, and faith that have shaped your character and supported you during challenging times. These are the elements you likely want to include in the legacy planning component of your estate plan. Once you know what you want to pass down, figuring out how to incorporate those pieces into your estate plan will be easier than you realized.
There are various ways to integrate legacy planning strategies and tools into your existing traditional estate plan. For instance, you can establish an incentive trust. As the creator of the trust (Settlor), you have the flexibility to define trust terms that incentivize the beneficiaries to engage in specific actions or refrain from others, aligning with your values and beliefs. For instance, if higher education is of paramount importance to you, you might create trust terms that allocate trust assets solely for educational expenses. Similarly, if your faith plays a central role in your life, you could include trust terms that require beneficiaries to demonstrate their adherence to the same faith.
Another option, particularly if you possess substantial estate assets, is to establish a charitable family foundation. A foundation, however, is considerably more complicated and involves substantial overhead costs. As such, you will likely only consider a family foundation if you have sufficient assets to warrant doing so. A family foundation, however, can be an excellent way to involve your children because they can be part of the management and operation, reinforcing your commitment to specific charitable causes and allowing your legacy to extend beyond your family.
Are You Ready to Pass Down Your Legacy?
For more information, please join us for an upcoming FREE seminar. If you are ready to get started with a legacy plan to help pass down your legacy, contact an experienced Indianapolis legacy planning attorney at Frank & Kraft by calling (317) 684-1100 to schedule an appointment.
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