Many individuals and couples agonize over the right end-of-life wealth distribution plan, and it’s understandable. Transferring the wealth you earn during your lifetime should be done only after very careful planning and consideration.
Still, many, if not most, benefactors fail to think about the most valuable transfer of all: the knowledge and mindset that it took to create the wealth and assets there to bequeath.
For example, which is more valuable: the money from an elite golfer’s winnings or his golf swing at the height of his career? Which is worth more: a Grammy-winning recording artist’s massive wealth or his ability to write music and perform for decades?
Think about your assets, your wealth, and your abilities and knowledge. Which legacy could potentially be more valuable to your heirs? Is it your assets and money or is it your ability to build a company, save and accumulate wealth, lead a team of professionals, or achieve successes in life and the business world?
Determine a way to convey or teach your natural or self-learned skills. That will be a very valuable legacy to your heirs.
Here’s an idea: Hire someone to interview you and to write your story and/or record your spoken history of success. Make that the foundation of your legacy so your heirs and family members capture the valuable story of your successes and skills. Capable professional writers can be retained for a modest amount compared to the value that you might pass on to your family from this legacy of knowledge.