YOUR FALL BUCKET LIST FOR LEGACY PLANNING

A bucket list is an itemized list of goals people want to accomplish before they die, or “kick the bucket.”  If just thinking about a bucket list makes you feel overwhelmed with all the things left to do, just use this fall bucket list to help you make your legacy a priority.  A season of legacy planning is marked with the recognition of how short life is no matter how long you live.  By understanding and acting on the sense of urgency, you take action to provide for your loved ones.    This is why bucket lists are helpful because they motivate people to accomplish certain things within a specific timeline.  I challenge you to complete this fall bucket list for legacy planning:

·       Before Halloween, do something that scares you! 

·       Before Thanksgiving, do something to express your gratitude! 

·       Before Giving Tuesday, do something to give back to your community! 

Before Halloween on October 31st, do something that scares you. 

As an advocate for legacy, I understand that legacy planning is scary for a lot of people.  This fall, I challenge you to set aside your fear of death or your fear of being forgotten and do something that scares you.  Schedule time to have conversations about legacy planning.  Call your estate planning attorney, your financial advisor, and/or your tax professional to discuss your estate plan to ensure your legal affairs are in order.  Putting your financial and legal affairs in order brings peace of mind.  Schedule October 31st as a deadline for yourself.   When you prioritize your estate planning by scheduling a deadline, you will make progress.  If you don’t have an estate plan, then schedule an initial consultation with a licensed attorney and mark your calendar.  Your estate planning attorney will help guide you in gathering the information needed to review your circumstances and objectives so they can prepare the legal documents required.  If you already have an estate plan but the documents are more than five years old, then schedule a review consultation and mark your calendar.  If you already have an estate plan but there has been a change in circumstances, then schedule a review consultation and mark your calendar.   A change in circumstance might be due to a change in your marital status: you need to add a spouse because of marriage or remove a former spouse because of divorce or death. A change in beneficiaries: you are adding or removing a named beneficiary or increasing or reducing a gift amount.  A change in real property ownership: you have inherited, purchased or sold real estate.  A change in financial accounts: you have opened or closed accounts with banking/financial institutions. 

Before Thanksgiving on November 26th, do something to express your gratitude. 

I challenge you to write a legacy love letter to express your love and gratitude to the people in your life.  Letters are an important part of legacy planning because your written instructions and your final farewell make it easier for your loved ones.  Letters also have the supernatural power to transcend time. The recipient can see your face, hear your voice, and feel your love even after you are gone. A will and trust can only provide an inheritance of earthly treasures, houses, money and personal belongings to loved ones. While working with grieving family members, I learned firsthand their memories of their lost loved ones and the legacy gift of love, faith, hope, and gratitude were much more important than all the stuff left behind.  A Legacy Love Letter is a heartfelt final goodbye which is found and read after the passing of a loved one. It is more than an ordinary love letter because it has an everlasting impact.  Your loved ones will receive from you a final goodbye and a final “I love you” to cherish.  Once these important letters are written, you will find peace of heart.

Before Giving Tuesday on December 1st, do something to give back to your community. 

I challenge you to make charitable donations on Giving Tuesday and/or charitable gifts as holiday gifts in honor of your loved ones.  Writing legacy letters helps you express gratitude for time spent with your loved ones, for life lessons, and for cherished memories.  Legacy planning encourages people to review and give thanks for their history, values, memories, wishes and wisdom. Consider this question, “What do you want to be remembered for?” The answer is more important than historical information which includes your work history; church or fraternal organization memberships, and details about your family tree. Reviewing this important history helps identify opportunities to make charitable gifts to colleges, as well as organizations and churches. Consider, “What are the most important values in your life?” When you identify your values, it will reveal your desire to not only provide for your loved ones but to make both lifetime and legacy gifts for churches and charities.

I hope this Fall Bucket List For Legacy Planning helps you stay on track with your legacy goals, so you still have plenty of time for ordering from the fall menu at your favorite coffee shop; visiting our local farmers market; enjoying an apple cider donut and decorating with pumpkins.  As a legacy advocate, I help clients find peace when they are in the season of legacy planning.  By organizing financial and legal affairs, you find peace of mind. By writing legacy love letters, you find peace of heart. I have run a successful law center for over two decades helping clients with estate planning, probate, and trust administration.  Clients contact my company, The Estate Planning Law Center, when they are in the season of legacy planning and they are seeking legal counsel and guidance.  In addition to legal services for estate planning, my book, “Legacy Love Letters: How To Leave A Gift of Love, Faith, Hope, And Gratitude,” helps readers write a heartfelt final goodbye which is found and read after the passing of a loved one.