The concept of financial legacy means different things to different people. Some people might hear that and think about their will or estate documents, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. This conversation will be a little bigger picture and a bit more philosophical.

When we talk about financial legacy, the discussion centers around passing on your values when it comes to money. Whether you are passing on money or not, what type of legacy do your children and grandchildren pick up? What kind of example have you been when it comes time for them to approach their own finances? Even when you are leaving money or other assets that make their life easier and provide opportunities, do you want to attach values and legacy to that?

This is usually an emotional topic because it involves kids, grandkids and all the things that circle around that. We even see people who struggle with decisions that come along with being in a strong financial position. There’s a sort of back and forth between giving kids and family amazing experiences and hesitating because they don’t want to spoil them.

But whether you’re wealthy or not, there are things every family should be thinking about as part of their financial legacy plan. One of those would be the values around money. All too often, the values around what it took to earn money don’t get passed from one generation to the next, which is why you see businesses failing when they’re passed on or wealth not transferred more than a generation.

Charitable interests are another value to pass on. If giving and supporting causes that are important to you are part of your values, that needs to be passed. It’s not one of those things where you can say it once and the message gets received. You have to repeat it over and over because people need to be reminded of the values and the mission of the family.

There’s a lot to think about so if a financial legacy is important to you, take the time to make sure you do things the right way so those values get transferred on to those that you love the most.  

Here’s some of what we discuss in this episode:

• What does it mean to Joel to leave a financial legacy?

• What kind of conversations has Joel and his wife had about this?

• Some of the financial legacy ideas Joel has picked up from peers.

• What should every family be thinking about?