Do you know what your legacy will be? Many people have ideas about how they want to be remembered but have not taken the necessary steps towards achieving their goal. Your legacy plan often should involve much more than just creating a will and you should get started working on your plan as soon as you can. The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. can help.
We provide comprehensive legacy planning assistance to people in the Finger Lakes, Rochester, Naples and surrounding areas. We can assist you in defining your legacy using the necessary legal tools to achieve your goals for how you are remembered. Give us a call at 585-374-5210 to speak with our legal team about how we can help with your personal legacy planning process and to get answers to important questions including:
- Do I need a legacy plan?
- What should be a part of my legacy planning process?
- How can a Finger Lakes legacy planning lawyer help me?
Do You Need a Legacy Plan?
You need a legacy plan if you want to make a meaningful contribution to a charity, if you want to provide wealth for your family, and if you want to control how you are remembered. If you have a family business, you should also create a plan to make sure that the company can be your legacy.
Legacy planning should begin early, and should involve exploring ways to build your nest egg and protect your assets. While you do not have to be rich or earn a lot of money to leave behind a strong legacy, you do need to make smart money choices so you have the cash to support causes and provide for your loved ones after you are gone.
Legacy planning should also focus on what will happen when you have passed away and on how to make the most meaningful contributions. If you have no plan in place, intestacy laws can determine who inherits your property and you could experience a substantial loss in assets if you have expensive medical care costs towards the end of your life. If you create a comprehensive legacy plan, you can take control and make sure the products of your life’s work are used for the good things that you have hoped your wealth can be used for.
What Should Be a Part of the Legacy Planning Process?
The legacy planning process should involve finding ways to grow your nest egg and to protect assets. This should begin when you are as young as possible. By taking advantage of tax breaks for investing, by setting financial goals, and by working with a financial advisor, you can make sure you grow your wealth which can help you to create the foundation for your legacy. As you grow your wealth, talk with your Finger Lakes legacy planning lawyer about ways you can prevent losses.
The legacy planning process can also involve taking many additional steps, depending upon your situation. The steps you need to take could include:
- Incorporating your business to help ensure your company exists as a separate legal entity which can survive beyond your lifetime.
- Creating a business succession plan to make it possible for your company to seamlessly transfer to the next generation of owners.
- Starting a charitable foundation which you can ensure does good works to support causes which you believe in.
- Creating different types of trusts, such as a charitable remainder trust or a spendthrift trust. Trusts do lots of different things, including helping you to protect a legacy which you leave behind for heirs.
Determining what legal tools should be used to help you create a legacy is very complicated. You want a comprehensive plan which is unique to the specific situation you are in and to the specific goals which you have for the future. An attorney at The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. will listen carefully to your plan and help you to create a road map for leaving a strong legacy. The sooner you begin, the more help we can be.
How can a Finger Lakes Legacy Planning Lawyer Help Me?
The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. provides assistance with legacy planning. Our legal team helps people of all ages and in all different financial situations throughout the Finger Lakes, Rochester, Naples and surrounding areas. We help you to set and achieve your goals and to preserve and protect your legacy. Give us a call at 585-374-5210 to find out more about how we can help with the legacy planning process.
