With proper estate planning, you have the opportunity to leave your legacy to live on. There are many ways to ensure your legacy lives on, even after you pass away. The estate planning tools you can use to accomplish this depend on your goals for your legacy, along with what you want to be remembered for.
California Legacy Estate Planning Attorneys
The California estate planning attorneys at Galanti & Copenhaver, Inc. can assist you with all of your estate planning needs. We would love the opportunity to meet with you and learn about your goals to help you establish an estate plan that accomplishes them. Contact us today to schedule a meeting with one of our attorneys so that we can help you plan to leave the legacy that you want to be remembered for.
What is a Legacy?
As used in estate planning, the term legacy has a few different meanings. This term can refer to money or property left to someone in a will.
It can also be used to describe the mark that someone leaves on the world when they pass away. In other words, leaving a legacy is a way for people to remember you for years to come.
Leaving a Legacy with Property
One way to leave your legacy is to gift real estate and other property that you own to your beneficiaries. For example, if you own a vacation home that has been a place for you and your loved ones to gather over the years, you can leave your legacy by giving the house to the next generation in your family to enjoy.
However, remember that gifting a home or any real estate to multiple people can make things complicated. One way you can make it easier on your loved ones is to have a detailed estate plan. An estate planning attorney can help you set up a trust or use another estate planning tool to make the process of transferring interest in the property easier for all.
Leave a Legacy with Meaningful Personal Belongings
Another way you can leave the legacy that you desire is to include details in your estate plans regarding valuable and sentimental personal property items. Before you sit down to work on this part of your estate plan with your attorney, it can be helpful to make a list of personal property items that are important to you.
For example, you may want to leave your wedding rings to your daughter, or perhaps a coin collection to your son with whom you shared that hobby. Leaving items with a meaningful personal history attached to your loved ones can be a great way to share your legacy and give them something special to remember you by.
Leave a Legacy with Charitable Gifts
Many people have organizations and charities that are meaningful to them. One way to leave a lasting legacy is to donate money or property to these organizations and charities so that you can support them for years to come.
If leaving money or property to charity will be part of your estate planning, it is a bright idea to go over your plans with an estate planning attorney. Your attorney will help you structure your estate plans so that you can donate to the charities you believe in while also maximizing tax benefits.
Other Things You Can Do to Leave Your Legacy
In addition to the above ideas, you can also do some other useful things to leave your legacy behind. If you enjoy cooking and have crafted some special family recipes, be sure to write them down and save them so that future generations of your family can enjoy them. Another thing you can do to leave your legacy is to organize a family album and include pictures of older generations of relatives, making sure to write down names and dates when possible.
A similar idea is to create a family tree and include as many generations and family members as you can. You can do this online or simply by using pen and paper. By leaving behind family recipes, photo albums, family trees, and other meaningful gifts, you can ensure that your legacy lives on for many generations to come.
There are many different ways to leave your legacy in the world. Making a detailed estate plan is one way to ensure those essential assets and property pass on to your chosen beneficiaries. Your estate plan can also contribute to your legacy if you include items of sentimental value in your estate plan to be distributed to your loved ones.
