Your Legacy

Estate planning and legacy planning — are they the same?

You have worked hard for your money, and the last thing you want to have happen when you pass on is that your spouse and beneficiaries do not get the full advantage of it! Your estate planning and legacy planning may sound the same, but they aren’t. Proper planning and attention to these will make a big difference to those coming after you.

It is stressful enough for the family when someone passes, without having to search high and low for all their personal documents as well. Particularly, if they are all in different places. The other challenge is when there is only one copy of some important documents and they can’t be found; in that case, your final wishes will be delayed. So what can you do?

Your legacy is what you leave to the next generations — the impact for good or bad. Thinking and planning your legacy goes along way to creating the course of action for your family, company or government department that you work for, or your business. What you plan and do now will have long-reaching results. By thinking about things now, you can prevent many of the unintended consequences that may happen.

When someone passes on and there is no spouse to which the estate will directly go to, there will be taxes to pay. There will be taxes on capital gains on any investments or property that is sold for more than what the original owner paid for it. To check out a full explanation and definition, go to Capital Gains — 2020.