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Living Well Today, Leaving a Legacy Tomorrow


Living Well Today, Leaving a Legacy Tomorrow

As financial advisors, our first responsibility is helping you retire with confidence and live a fulfilling life. There are three key levers we can pull to build your perfect retirement scenario:

  1. How much you spend today
  2. When you retire
  3. How much you’ll spend in retirement

By balancing these three, we can design a retirement that lets you enjoy life today while preparing for the decades ahead.

The reality for most families is that retirement isn’t the “final chapter” of financial planning. Oftentimes, retirement marks the beginning of an entirely new phase as your assets are projected to outlast your life. You’re then faced with three new considerations on how to manage your retirement wealth:

1. Spend more freely now

2. Give more to family or causes you care about while you can see the impact

3. Preserve and direct your wealth for once you’re gone

That last consideration brings us into the realm of estate and legacy planning.

Why Estate and Legacy Planning Matters

For many people, estate planning is seen as “who gets what” when you’re no longer here. But for high-net-worth families, it goes much deeper. A thoughtful estate plan can:

  • Reduce estate taxes and preserve more of your wealth for heirs and charitable causes
  • Avoid probate, ensuring privacy and efficiency in how your assets transfer
  • Protect beneficiaries from risks like divorce, creditors, or poor financial decisions
  • Support philanthropic goals through vehicles like donor-advised funds or family foundations
  • Promote harmony in your family by eliminating ambiguity and setting clear expectations

Your estate plan is not just about dividing assets, it’sabout designing your legacy.

The Core Pieces of a Strong Estate Plan

Every client’s plan looks a little different, but thefoundational tools we often see are:

  • Will – Outlines asset distribution and guardianship decisions. It’s the most basic tool.
  • Revocable Living Trust – Provides greater control, avoids probate, and allows for customized instructions such as staggered inheritances, protections for children, or charitable giving.
  • Irrevocable Trusts – More advanced, but useful for tax efficiency, asset protection, or charitable strategies.
  • Power of Attorney (POA) – Ensures someone you trust can manage financial and legal matters if you’re unable.
  • Healthcare Directive / Living Will – Documents your medical wishes and names a healthcare proxy.
  • Beneficiary Designations – Retirement accounts, annuities, and insurance policies pass directly to beneficiaries, so they must align with your overall plan.

Coordinating Across Your Financial Picture

Your estate strategy must be aligned with your broader financial and retirement plan. Gifting strategies, ownership changes, business or property management, tax burden minimization, beneficiary desires, among other things, are all to be considered in this process.

All the estate planning decisions you make are interconnected and impactful in your overall retirement and legacy picture. That’s why we work closely with estate planning attorneys, CPAs, and your broader advisory team to ensure every piece works together.

Building a Legacy That Reflects Your Values

The most successful plans don’t just move money from one generation to the next. They communicate your values and ensure you leave the legacy you intended. Whether that means providing for family security, teaching financial responsibility, creating philanthropic impact, or ensuring your wealth continues to grow and serve future generations.

As financial advisors, we see estate and legacy planning as the natural continuation of your retirement strategy. Together with your attorney, we help integrate it into your overall financial plan so that your wealth sustains your lifestyle today, while also creating a lasting and meaningful impact tomorrow.

Ready to learn more? Get started by requesting a complimentary initial consultation whenever it’s convenient for you.
 

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