Personal Finance

Case Study (7):

Legacy Planning

Read the following article about Legacy Planning:

http://www.financial-planning.com/asset/article/527840/legacy-planning.html

This is the latest in the evolution of Financial Planning. It goes beyond just estate planning. As the article states "It also involves the spiritual, intellectual and ethical development of family members."

Take some time to think about this. Please comment on what you think about this and how this would be accomplished in your life. Write up a "Family Mission Statement" that pertains to your legacy.

It can be difficult to truthfully state what is actually important in your life. Most people have a idealistic view of themselves and what they believe. That is to say that they know what others want to hear or what is socially acceptable. This idealistic thought is the mission statement we want to share with everyone. As believers, the Bible clearly tells us what our mission statement should be: to bring glory to God and serve Him in all aspects of our life. If this is truly our mission statement, all our actions should reflect it.

When I read this article I could not help but see it as a marketing ploy. Not that there is anything wrong with the intent, in fact just the opposite. These folk are doing a great job of discovering who you are and what you stand for. They appear to have some great tools to get to the truth about how you got to where you are today, and what is truly important to you. This gets into marketing in my mind because there are similar methodologies to other sales/advising markets. Financial Planning comes immediately to mind. I feel like this short article had the same message as the first book we read this class, Values-Based Financial Planning (Bachrach, 2002). I think that it is a great way to do business as a professional advisor, however I wonder how much is fad and how much is real. I believe that it would be possible to tell the difference between someone who embraces this ideology and one who is just trying the next great marketing trick.

What I liked about creating a family mission statement is that those left behind, possibly many generations later, can look back at this document and understand the legacy a family intended to leave. I defined legacy as how people remember you, those things that define your life. Were we known as loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, gentle, faithful, generous, hospitable and a follower of Christ? That is what I want people to remember me by, especially if anyone remembers me as a Christian. If my legacy is not positive and reflective of Christ, I would rather not be known as a Believer, because of the potential damage done to the Church. There are to many professing believers in the world who have terrible reputations.

Clearly, having a mission statement written for all to read, would help others hold me accountable for my actions. It could also redefine how some people view our family history. I come from a long line of Christians, probably eight or more generations on both sides. That is an incredible heritage, but it is possible that some time in the future I will have family members that don't know the significance of Christ in our family. If this mission statement is found it is possible that it would make someone curious enough to search for Christ themselves and find their Savior because of a simple statement.

To create my families mission statement I would like to talk to my grandparents, my parents then sit down and search the scriptures for exact references that describe successful Christian living. After reviewing what the Bible states and writing my fist draft I would share it with close friends and ask them to not only hold me accountable to the statement, but point out any deficiencies that they see in my life. Next, I would take that input and modify my mission statement as needed and then pray that God would change me to match what His plan is for my life. Since I haven't done this yet, I think I could sum it up with one verse: Mathew 22:37. “...Love the Lord out God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Holy Bible) Jesus was restating some of the message presented to the Israelites shortly after Moses refreshed their minds with the Ten Commandments. Jesus went on to say that this commandment along with loving our neighbors was a succinct statement of all the revealed Word of God, until the time He lived on earth. Any verse that can so completely sum up 4000+ years of teaching, is worth meditating on.

Resources:

Brown, C. (2006). Legacy planning. Financial-Planning.com. Retrieved August 19, 2008 from: http://www.financial-planning.com/asset/article/527840/legacy-planning.html

Kapoor, Dlabay, Hughes (2008). Focus on personal finance: an active approach to help develop successful financial skills, 2nded. McGraw Hill Irwin, New York.

Holy Bible (2006), New american standard bible: update edition. Thomas Nelson Publishing, Lockman Foundation. La Habra, Ca, USA.