As you celebrate the Fourth of July and everything it stands for, freedom, independence, and the pursuit of happiness, take a moment to appreciate the ultimate American liberty: the right to decide your own affairs, even after you die or if you become unable to make decisions for yourself.
An estate plan, and more specifically a Life & Legacy Plan®, is how you put that liberty into action. It’s your personal Declaration of Independence.
We know, that sounds a little strange. How can an estate plan possibly give you freedom? Here’s how.
A Life & Legacy Plan® is a unique planning process we use at our firm, and it does four things at once. It preserves your self-determination, protects your family, grows your wealth, and defines your legacy on your own terms.
Just as the Founding Fathers declared freedom from the British crown more than two centuries ago, your Life & Legacy Plan® declares your independence from the courts, the state laws, and the conflicting opinions that could otherwise unravel your final wishes. Read on to see exactly how.
You Already Have a Plan. It Just May Not Be the One You Want
The first thing to understand is that you already have a plan for what happens if you become incapacitated or when you die. You may not know what that plan is, and you may not like it once you find out.
That’s because the government has written a plan for you, without your input. Or maybe you created your own plan but didn’t fully understand the choices you made, haven’t updated it in years, or never titled your assets in a way that actually puts them under your plan’s protection.
When you have a Life & Legacy Plan®, you get to override the government’s default with your own choices. You decide exactly how your assets are collected and distributed. You can provide for certain loved ones over others. You can leave assets to chosen family, the people who aren’t related by blood or marriage but have become close kin to you by choice. You can give to the causes that matter most to you.
A Life & Legacy Plan® also stays current. We maintain it with you throughout your lifetime, so as your assets shift, your life changes, and the law evolves, your plan keeps pace. It grows with you instead of going stale.
You’re not a stagnant person. You’re evolving, changing, and most likely growing. Your plan needs to do the same, or it isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.
The Freedom of Deciding With Eyes Wide Open
Planning for incapacity or death is really planning for your best possible life, and for the best possible life of the people you love. You may have never heard it framed that way, but think it through.
If you accept that you’re going to die one day, that you might become incapacitated first, and that you want your family and your assets cared for in a particular way when those moments come, wouldn’t that naturally shape the choices you make with your resources right now?
We call this “eyes wide open” decision-making. It leads to the most thoughtful use of your resources throughout your life, and it makes things as easy as possible for the people you love if you become incapacitated or pass away.
Here’s an example. When you take the time to decide how you want to be cared for if you can no longer care for yourself, and you put those choices in writing, you can make sure the right relationships and the right financial resources are in place to deliver on those wishes, for you and for anyone who would care for you or your kids.
The alternative is leaving it all to chance, or to a judge. We call that “eyes squeezed shut, pretend it’s not going to happen” decision-making, and it isn’t responsible, mature, or kind to yourself or to the people you love.
The Power to Choose
The most grown-up and loving thing you can do for yourself and your family is to make your wishes clear well in advance. How do you want to be cared for if you can’t care for yourself? Who should make decisions for you, and how do you want those decisions made?
It’s just as important to give the people you love a roadmap, so they know what you have, where it is, and how to find it.
A Life & Legacy Plan® does all of that. And it doesn’t matter whether you have a little or a lot, because either way your loved ones will have to deal with it. Making your choices now, while you’re living, healthy, and clear, empowers them and spares them the time, energy, and attention they may not have to give, especially while they’re grieving.
The plan we help you create can also account for special circumstances, like children or spouses from previous marriages, loved ones with disabilities, or family members you intentionally choose to leave out. There’s no more worrying about assets getting split unfairly or ending up in the wrong hands.
We can even help you hold a family meeting, which brings your loved ones together around a shared understanding of your intentions rather than letting conflict and differing interpretations drive them apart. Your Life & Legacy Plan® gives you the power to choose more ease, for yourself and for the people you love.
A Declaration of How You Want to Be Remembered
Your Life & Legacy Plan® is also your final statement of the values and experiences you want to pass on to your loved ones and the world. This is your chance to put your own stamp on how your individuality and life’s purpose are remembered, rather than leaving it to chance or leaving behind a legacy of mess and drama.
Every plan we create includes a Life & Legacy recording. It guides you to share your deepest hopes, your hard-won wisdom, and the values you’ve built over decades of successes, struggles, and growth. You’ll pass along cherished stories, meaningful quotes, and the philosophies that give your life meaning.
For most families, that recording becomes the most treasured gift of all, carried forward into future generations.
So this Independence Day, make your own personal declaration of freedom by creating a comprehensive Life & Legacy Plan®. Take pride in exercising your liberties to the fullest, removing the uncertainty around your final affairs and making sure your true wishes are honored.
Let Us Be Your Life & Legacy Planning Partner
As a Personal Family Lawyer® Firm, Life & Legacy Planning® is all we do. We work with you to build a plan on your terms, based on what you want rather than what someone else has decided for you.
And once your plan is in place, you can rest easy knowing your wishes will be honored, your loved ones will be cared for, and your legacy will be preserved.
For more on Texas estate planning, and to learn about estate planning lawyer Tom Misteli and The Misteli Law Firm, visit www.mistelilaw.com.
