Legacy Message Samples

These three sample Legacy Messages are examples of how people have shared thoughts with their children regarding their wishes and regarding their approach to life, values, and decision-making. Each sample offers a varied approach to legacy messaging. By no means are the terms or approaches detailed in these samples meant to be a recommendation for estate planning decisions, but rather a guide for how to draft your own unique priorities and customized guidance regarding financial resources.

Sample Legacy Message #1

Dear Children,

Your Dad & I have been in a planning process with our Advisor Team at NAME and are learning a lot. For example, we’ve discussed how investing is related to estate planning and ultimately to our values as a family. Regarding the latter, they have been asking us questions that have caused us to think about our family resources in a new way. For example, they have asked us “What is the purpose of our family resources?” and “What is the vision we have for our resources across the generations?”

For my whole career I focused on serving clients and building a successful business…and we are fortunate that it worked out. Now we have begun to think more about the future of our family and its resources. To this end, we want to share a few of our thoughts with you and ultimately hear what your hopes, dreams, and questions might be for our family and resources long-term.

So here is where we are presently – understanding we will continue to learn along the way and hopefully not make too many unintentional mistakes – so in no particular order:

First, Mom and I would like us to enjoy the fruit of our labor…for example, create shared family experiences (e.g., vacations), support your life and work goals, and through charitable giving, support the causes we value.

In no case do we ever want our resources to unintentionally cause any of us to sit back and not work hard toward our goals. Happiness and a fulfilling life comes through achieving our goals, sharing with others, and rewarding and loving relationships. If we ever see our family drifting toward entitlement or not pursuing goals, we will give away even more of our resources.

So it is important to us that we all see our family resources as just this, a family asset and not a birth rite. Having said this, we do want to provide a safety-net for you. For example, we plan to support you in the following ways: ensure that you have good healthcare, support your education, a down payment on a home that you can afford to maintain through your own earned income, and wedding expenses.

Bigger picture, our vision for our resources is for them to last for generations. In other words, your children, grandchildren and beyond. This is why our estate plan is designed to keep the resources in our blood-line. We have also been advised that it is wise that prenups are also in place to ensure our vision.

We want our mindset to be that we not only enjoy our resources, but also grow them so they last for generations. To this end, we expect that each of you will have a minimum level of financial acumen so you can better understand what’s going on, be an effective steward, and be able to speak confidently with our advisors.

Also, over time we plan to create opportunities to do philanthropy together as a family. This is very important to us and we have learned it is an important way for families to bond around their shared values and as a result bless others.

So we just shared a bit about where we are. We would love to hear any feedback you may have – what your feelings are about this and what questions you may have. Please know our intention is to keep this discussion going and we are intending to have a family retreat this summer that will involve all of you. It will be a chance for you to get to know at least a couple of our advisors and have some quality time together.

Sample Legacy Message #2

Dear NAME and NAME,

We write this letter in an attempt to share our deepest hopes, dreams, and expectations for your lives, so that you will have these words to guide you when we are no longer here.

You are unique and beautiful individuals with your own talents, personalities, passions, and strengths. For example, NAME1, your reflective, introverted, sensitive, creative, and outwardly loving personality brings so much heart to our family. We hope that you will find success sharing your artistic talent and love of helping others in a way that you find meaningful. NAME2, your work-ethic, energy, and zest for life is inspiring and makes us so excited to see where these gifts will end up leading you in your life. We hope that each of you can find a way to use these gifts to impact the world in a beneficial way, while also finding balance in your personal life to enjoy fulfilling relationships and to make time for your surfing and fishing hobbies.

The Happiness Research from (Harvard, U. of Penn, etc.) shows that when a person crafts a life based on their strengths – when that person experiences achievement, has positive relationships, is grateful, truly lives a philanthropic life (the love of others) and does all this toward a higher purpose, they have a much more meaningful and fulfilling life. We sincerely hope that these principles will guide you both to live purposeful and flourishing lives.

Since you were babies, we have prayed with you almost every night. We have invested in your spiritual capital by loving you, bringing you to church, showing generosity to others, and having open informal and formal conversations about God, Jesus, and the Christian faith. We would like you to continue on this path with the following areas of focus:

PRIORITIES

1. FAITH IN GOD. We want you to know and be showered with the LOVE of God before any other teaching! We do not believe in focusing on the shallow outward dos and don’ts of what the church might expect (Romans 12), nor a focus on how sinful people can be. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

2. STRIVING TO EXCEL. We want you both to excel (as defined by using your natural abilities plus hard work) at whatever task you set out to do, to engage in healthy relationships with others, and to contribute your natural abilities to the world in meaningful ways.

3. STEWARDSHIP OF RESOURCES. We believe that it is a privilege to have access to significant financial resources. Family members in prior generations sacrificed a great deal to build the assets you will inherit and we see these assets as not belonging to any one person but rather as being entrusted to our family to steward faithfully. Our resources include our time, talents, and treasure; and therefore, we expect that you both will prioritize the sharing of time through volunteering. As such, we are motivated to handle all that we have been given in Christian faithfulness and love, bearing in mind that, “to whom much is given, much is required.” Luke 12

GUIDANCE REGARDING FINANCIAL RESOURCES

Given the aforementioned guiding principles, we would like any material assets we leave behind to you both (e.g., investments, home, business, etc.) to promote, support, and accomplish these objectives. With regard to the trusts in your individual names, we offer the following guidance:

• These trusts are meant to empower and help you build financial confidence.
• These trusts can supplement lifestyle and family expenses so you can afford better housing or vacations and have less financial strain, especially during the years when you are raising your own children.
• The use of money from your individual trusts should ideally be distributed as a monthly stipend, not to exceed 3% of the trust’s principal annually. This will give you an opportunity to work directly with your financial advisors to develop a goal-based financial plan and investment strategy.
• If you should have the need to request funds in excess of the 3% of principal amount, a request must be submitted to the Trustee for approval, including a detailed budget for intended us of the funds.
• Barring anything out of your control, it is our strong desire that your trusts not be the sole support for your living expenses, but rather a supplement to your hard work.
• Should either of you desire to suspend paid work to raise your own child or children, these individual trusts can be used to supplement family expenses up to 10% of principle annually until the time that the child or children reach school enrollment age. Should you have the need for these additional funds, a request must be submitted to the Trustee annually for approval.
• Should either or both of you desire to work in a full-time position that is philanthropic or impact-driven, but provides a substandard salary, these individual trusts can be used to supplement family expenses up to 15% of principal as long as you hold this position. Should you have the need for these additional funds, a request must be submitted to the Trustee annually for approval.
• Your individual trusts should not be used for philanthropic giving, education, or health related expenses as the family trust is designed to cover all such expenses.

With regard to our FAMILY GST TRUST

• The purpose of this trust is to provide for the health and education expenses of generations of FAMILY NAME in the future.
• Should you have a need to access these funds, a request must be made to the Trustee.
• Should you face challenges related to physical or mental illness or addiction, we’ve asked the Trustee to provide support, including financial support from the trust, for your mental, physical and emotional health (for example, to cover the cost of treatment, counseling or rehabilitation). We have asked the Trustee, especially during challenging times, to first protect your interests, and then to protect the family trust and your individual trust assets from being used in ways that are opposed to our intentions.

With regard to our FAMILY NAME CHARITABLE TRUST

• All philanthropic giving should be directed through the FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST.
• When you reach age 25, and express interest, you may become co-trustees for this trust. We encourage you to be active in directing grants to reputable causes you care deeply about. These funds are intended to promote the well-being of others and should therefore not be used to support political causes that do not have a direct impact on promoting the well-being of others.

Although this document is meant to be a truly heartfelt guide, we know it does not cover every possible scenario or decision that will arise pertaining to your lives, but we trust that you will take time to pray, seek the wisdom of others, and lean into past experiences to build a beautiful, meaningful life.

Mom & Dad Dated: 1/1/01

Sample Legacy Message #3

Dear NAME, NAME, & NAME,

Our family has enjoyed the benefit of the resources Nana and Pop created through the business they built and sold during their lifetime. I know you’ve heard the stories about this business and all their “hard work and a little luck along the way.” These stories are so important to know and remember and share with your children one day because they are a big part of our heritage. This money didn’t grow on a tree out in the yard, but came as a result of a lot of risk and ingenuity, especially for your grandparents as first generation immigrants to this country. They wanted a better life for all of us and that’s what motivated them. These stories about the creation of our wealth is a key piece of our family culture and values, so always keep them in your heart.

And then for me. as a single parent, I have worked hard to add my own chapter to our family story. I suppose I could have stopped working and just lived off of the money your grandparents shared with me, especially after your father left, but it was always important to me to work. I wanted to model for you that women can be leaders in the workplace while juggling family responsibilities – I do hope you all felt and knew that being there for you was my top priority. I believe we all have something to contribute to the world; we are meant to be producers, not consumers.

As such, I always want us to consider how we can use our resources as a tool to create – to create more money, to create more opportunity, to create more impact. However, I want it to be a tool for creating good in us and in the world. If not managed carefully, money can become a burden to you as individuals and across our family so use caution as you use it and make decisions about it.

I’ve never wanted to offer too many restrictions about how you use these resources, but I expect that you will be very intentional in your approach. Ask yourself what you want it to accomplish.

• Do you want to use it to start a business? If you risk it all and lose it, that’s okay! Being bold doesn’t always work out and sometimes we swing and miss. I have set things up in a way that allows you to direct your own portions, so that the choices one of you makes won’t impact your siblings’ portions.
• Or maybe you’d like for this money to benefit generations to come, to support their education and offer money to help them get started in life. That’s fantastic too – just be sure to work with advisors to understand how much you can spend and how best to invest in order to accomplish the goals you have set for yourself.
• Maybe you decide you’d like to give it all away to charitable causes – go for it! Just be sure to educate yourself about how to evaluate these causes and partner with those that will truly honor the goals you hope to achieve with your giving.

Just be thoughtful about your approach, and remember that life tends to unfold with many surprises along the way. As siblings, honor each other’s choices even if you disagree with them. As such, if your siblings spend their portions and request additional support from you, I expect that you will first protect your own financial goals for your own portion of the money, and feel no obligation to share additional resources with them.

And always remember our family motto: Be bold – Be beautiful – Be Beckers.

Yours Always,

Mom