We all have a set of core values we live our life by. They are the very foundation of who we are and what we stand for.
As important as they are, how clear are you on your core values?
And what is the vital role that your core values and life story play in your estate planning and crafting your legacy?
We are going to answer these questions in the final piece of an exclusive article and video series for Sixty and Me readers titled, Planning Your Legacy and Guiding Your Heirs.
If you missed the previous instalments in this series, please find them here:
Part 1: A Practical Guide to Giving Your Life Away to Heirs.
Part 2: 10 Steps to Define Your Core Values After 60.
It’s Your Legacy That Matters
Whether you choose to sit down and consciously craft your legacy, one thing remains certain. When you are no longer physically here, your life will have left a lasting impression on many people.
The question is what is the essence of your life’s impact on family, friends, and your community?
People will have their opinions of you, and they are entitled to them. And yes, you will need trusted legal and financial experts to help you with your will and estate.
But when it comes to crafting your legacy and clearly outlining your core values, no one will have a better understanding of what matters most to you than yourself.
You may agree but the big question for many is, when it comes to a will and your overall estate planning, where and how do you weave in your legacy? And how can you communicate your core values to those who are in your will?
You’re Passing on a Part of Yourself
Beyond the legal and financial jargon involved in a will, the true essence of it is founded on your core values.
You can craft a meaningful legacy for your heirs by thoughtfully incorporating your core values into your will and other important documents you leave behind. This process involves more than just the distribution of assets.
It’s about passing on a part of yourself.
From your values, beliefs, experiences, wisdom, and the essence of what you hold dear, your legacy cannot be left up to someone else to determine what is or what is not valuable to you.
Core values influence not just the allocation of assets, but also guide decisions about philanthropic giving, the care of dependents, and the overall legacy you wish to leave behind. Behind all of these are the stories associated with everything.
Your Legacy Told Through Your Life Story
Integrating the story behind your core values into estate planning can create a sense of peace and fulfillment. A well-thought story can ensure your life’s work and beliefs will continue to resonate and make a positive, lasting impact for generations to come.
Let’s look at five important ways of understanding your core values and how they come together in your will to tell your life story and shape a lasting legacy:
Ensuring Alignment with Beliefs
By understanding your core values, and the stories that shaped them, you can ensure that your will and estate plans align with your deeply held beliefs, values, and principles.
Facilitating Decision Making
Core values act as a guide in making tough decisions about asset distribution and end-of-life care. How you communicate this to your legal team, family, and heirs through the stories that frame your legacy is what leaves a lasting impact and ensures your wishes are fulfilled.
Reducing Family Conflict
Clearly communicated values and wishes can help minimize misunderstandings and conflicts among family members after one’s passing. But it is the story you weave into what you are leaving your heirs that elevates an object into the rarified realm of being priceless. You can write and/or record the story behind the items you are bequeathing to your heirs. You can include this story with what they are inheriting.
Leaving a Meaningful Legacy
A will that also includes key aspects of your life story can clearly communicate your core values while also extending your legacy far beyond your lifetime. Again, you can write or record this story.
Personal Peace and Closure
Understanding your core values and aligning them with key points in your will can bring a sense of peace and closure to you and your loved ones.
A Legacy of Love, Respect and Care
Integrating core values and personal stories into the estate planning process, you can ensure your legacy is not just about what you leave behind in material terms.
This is also about the values, beliefs, and love that continue to influence future generations.
Ultimately, the way you craft and communicate your will can itself be a legacy of love, respect, and care. Ensuring that the process is as much about respect and dignity as it is about asset distribution can be a significant part of your legacy.
I invite you to join me in the video where I will share additional insights on how to weave your stories into your will. I will also guide you through a series of journal prompts to help you integrate what you’re learning.
Let’s Have a Conversation:
How are you passing down your life story? What legacy have you created for yourself? What decisions that you made in the past have helped you to leave a lasting legacy in family, friends and your community?
