What We Leave Behind is More Than Money
When it comes to estate planning, it comes down to what assets you want to pass along and how it happens. However, the legacies we leave behind are often far more than money. In this broadcast originally to The Plain English Attorney Community, attorney and author Jeffrey G. Marsocci provides a perspective different than what most attorneys provide when it comes to checking off the estate planning checklist.
I really started thinking about legacies, something other than what we leave behind financially and money wises. There are a lot of things we do that we may not even think about that can really impact someone’s life. That’s sort of a legacy that we are giving too.
Unfortunately, my last trip to Rhode Island was to attend a funeral. But I really started thinking on the way up and the entire way back that there are some powerful lessons that people end up teaching us that impact our lives, that we really don’t even think about it. And then when you do start thinking about that you realize that you are having a powerful impact on others’ lives and you may not even know it.
I’m an estate attorney working with people setting up their estates, the legacy you leave behind in a financial sense. The reason I got into this was to make this as smooth as possible for people and their families. It’s bad enough to have to deal with your loss, so the legacies, those things that we leave behind are a lot more than money.
Legacies are more than money, property, and assets. It’s about the lessons we learn. Legacies that people pass to us, the lessons we teach that go to others, in particular the next generation. The work that we do can also provide examples and provide a legacy, and then the things that we build.
Good lessons we learn should be passed on. Everybody gets lessons from close family members, I’m no different. But some of the most powerful lessons I learned not related to money were from my grandfathers. My grandfather Rudy always taught me to always stand up for myself. Not just because you need to stand up for yourself, but because until you stand up for yourself no one else is going to stand up for you. If you are not willing to do enough for yourself, then no one else is going to come along with you. That was a lesson that I did take to heart and it has always governed my life.
This video was first released to our community, but I decided to put it out public after that due to the topic involved. Consider becoming a part of this community by checking out the program at https://plainenglishattorneyseries.com or the monthly subscription at https://plainenglishattorneymonthly.com
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