First off, I'm a financial planner, not an estate planning attorney. I don't draft wills, trusts, or legal documents; nor do I give legal advice. What I do is help educate you about the importance of having an estate plan (and sometimes asset protection). I help make sure the financial side of your estate plan is on track: beneficiary designations are correct and coordinated, assets are titled properly, and your plan is as tax-efficient as possible. For the legal documents, I'll encourage you to work with a qualified estate planning attorney, and if you don't have one, I can help you find one.
An estate plan isn't just for the wealthy. Without one, the state decides what happens to your assets, your minor children, and your healthcare decisions in a crisis. A basic estate plan often includes a trust or will (if you're married or in a partnership, you'll each likely have your own will and a joint trust), powers of attorney, and a healthcare directive - this is one of the most responsible things you can do for your family. Yet most people put it off indefinitely.
Unfortunately, within the past ten years I've had three family members die without an estate plan (left a massive mess and a lot of turmoil in the family that caused division!) and another who passed away with an old, outdated estate plan that we all wish he had updated and that has ended up causing quite a bit of pain and frustration. That's not the legacy you want to leave!
The truth is, no one plans on dying. It just happens. And unfortunately, sometimes before you die you're incapacitated and unable to respond. Two of those four experiences I shared were that situation. No medical directives. No way to tell the medical team what treatments they wanted or didn't want, if they wanted to remain alive on a ventilator or not. They were terrible situations. Don't put yourself in that position, and don't put your family in that position.
The most enduring legacies aren't measured in dollars. The values, habits, and financial wisdom you've built over a lifetime are worth more to your heirs than any account balance. Part of what I help clients think through is how to be intentional about transferring not just wealth but wisdom and perspective to the next generations. These conversations are some of the best things that you can do for your loved ones!
Research consistently shows that a large inheritance can be a gift or a burden, depending almost entirely on the recipient's preparation and character.
Wealth tends to amplify what's already there. A responsible, generous person who receives an inheritance often becomes more responsible and more generous. Someone without those foundations can find that sudden wealth accelerates drift, reduces motivation, or creates conflict they weren't equipped to handle. Studies on wealth windfalls find real risks: reduced work effort, complicated family dynamics, and psychological struggles around identity and purpose, particularly for young heirs raised in high-wealth environments. This is one huge reason I'm hesitant to create "generational wealth" for my child(ren).
The commonly repeated claim that wealth disappears by the second or third generation is directionally true even if the exact figures are disputed. Families that preserve wealth across generations tend to do so not through investment performance, but through communication, preparation, shared values, and intentional governance.
Warren Buffett put it simply:
"Leave your children enough that they can do anything, but not so much that they can do nothing."
Where does your situation fall on that spectrum? That's a question worth wrestling with.
Estate planning is one of the most powerful and underused opportunities to give. If you die without a will or trust, the state determines where your wealth goes and charities, including your church, get nothing.
Charitable giving through an estate can be tax-efficient, meaningful, and deeply formative for the next generation when done with intention. Whether through direct bequests, donor-advised funds, charitable trusts, or other structures, generosity built into your estate plan is a statement about what you valued and what you want to pass on.
For clients of faith, estate planning carries a weight beyond the financial. The wealth you've accumulated isn't ultimately yours; it's been entrusted to you. Good stewardship doesn't end at death. It extends into how you structure your estate, who you leave assets to, and whether the way you distribute wealth reflects wisdom and responsibility, or simply sentiment.
Leaving a large inheritance to someone who isn't prepared for it isn't generosity. It may be harmful.
The question isn't just what you'll leave behind. It's whether you managed it well. That's worth thinking through now, while you still can update your estate planning documents.