SUCCESS STORIES
Welcome to Straight Talk. We at Legacy Legal and Family Legacy Trainings appreciate your enjoyment of our weekly insights on Living Wealth and Legacy
This edition unfortunately is marked by the tragic events in Boston on Patriot’s Day and the two “terrorist” bomb blasts that took the lives of a few and maimed and injured many others. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to all those who were affected directly and indirectly.
Directly and indirectly. The actions of what we do each and every day have ripples far beyond what we may ever notice, hope for, or expect so we need to be careful, thoughtful and intentional about our plans, our actions and our words. Without a plan there is fail. Family Anger In Lawsuits. Without a plan there is fail. Financial abundance is lacking. Without a plan there is failure. Family achievements is lacking undermining real enrichment.
Over my 28 year career there have been and continue to be so many family legacy planning success stories, some known and some unknown. And while we might like to say that our work has benefited thousands of people in small and large measures we would like to share a couple of our best success stories.
Our first story is about the G family. Grandpa and Grandma G served in World War II, met, married and settled in San Diego. Grandpa G started buying real estate and over time built up a substantial real estate portfolio of wealth. Grandpa and Grandma G did some basic estate planning. Grandpa G died and at the time (back in 2000) it was clear that on the death of Grandma G if planning wasn’t done a lot of that hard earned work would go right to Uncle Sam, the unexpected heir of the family.
I met with the family and they decided to establish some formal companies and trusts for the benefit of grandchildren and even great grandchildren. They chose to skip over the children because they were cared for in different ways. The thinking was to put into place a plan that would and could be implemented for generations. We worked out cash flow needs, valuation questions and transferred interests in the companies to the trusts.
Over the last couple of years, we have had discussions with family G about the present estate tax law, the value of the assets owned by Grandma G (who by the way successfully made us look good by living beyond the time period required for some of the planning) and the family plan. In these discussions we confirmed the roles and responsibilities of the family members, the obligations of the trustee and officers in place and the successful avoidance of future estate tax when Grandma G passes away. She is still looking good and going strong in her 90’s.
The G family took the time, had the right conversations, and has done a great job of planning and managing the family real estate enterprise and all generations have prospered. Congratulations to the G family.
Our second family has its own unique story. Husband and Wife lived a modest lifestyle. They had two children. One of the children had two children. When husband passed away he had a modest investment portfolio. Some of the money was used to fund the living needs of wife. One daughter (working) and her husband (on disability) lived with mom to assist in her care. The other daughter lives in Michigan. She recently retired and had a heart transplant. Mom recently passed away. The daughters set aside their past sibling rivalry and have bonded in the realization that life is short and they truly love one another. In our meeting, when I explained the wealth the parents had built and how this wealth could be preserved to make the daughters’ life just a bit easier they were truly grateful for the gift. For one of the daughters, paying off some bills to free up monthly cash flow will make a huge impact. For the other daughter, using some money to fix up her house in Michigan so it can be sold and she will be able to move here to California similarly has been an important blessing.
All in all, in the author’s opinion, the key in this family’s well being definitely can be attributed to the purposeful and meaningful conversations the family had with us in concert with the financial advisor working together as a team.
Our third family is a plan in progress. I bring this family up because I would like the readers to experience in real time how a successful plan can be created for families with the right thinking and values.
In this story, a hard working executive was married to a woman who came from a family of wealth. She passed away leaving the husband and two children. The husband, being a hard working executive, appreciates the value of building wealth, not just making money and spending money. It turns out that each of the children will be receiving a sizeable inheritance from the wife’s ancestors (who did some good estate planning of their own). So the husband calls me to discuss how to establish a family fund that can be used for the benefit of the entire family.
The Beginning. We began the discussion about involving the children (well really they are young adults in their 20’s and one is married) to get clarity and to recognize the visions and beliefs of each family member. Husband agreed this would be a good idea and we are in the process of setting up initial steps for the family to take individually and as a family to establish their purpose and vision.
Our vision is for families to be financially self sufficient. Our mission is to create lasting wealth and build, protect and preserve that wealth and legacy for generations. To do these things we need to have business prosperity, good financial foundations, a tax fortress and personal power.
Thank you for being a part of our Straight Talk community. We educate, transform and inspire business owners and families in enhancing the way they think and talk about wealth in money, values, beliefs and traditions. By Uniting, Aligning and Nurturing your common purpose and vision you can protect and preserve wealth for generations. What is your Legacy?
If you like the thought, concepts and ideas in this blog we hope you will join us for our Create an Inspired Legacy Workshop where we will explore these principles and tools you can use today in more depth. To learn more visit or Workshops page.
We welcome you to share your ideas and thoughts and Remember to register for the workshop. All family members may come for one admission price.
