protect your legacy
Prepare What You Leave
Behind
Learn how beneficiaries, estate considerations, financial records, and wealth-transfer decisions can help prepare your financial affairs for the people and priorities that matter to you.
legacy BASICS
Legacy Planning Is More Than Leaving Money
Legacy planning is about preparing your financial affairs so that assets, responsibilities, and important information can be handled more clearly if you become unable to manage them or after your death.
Assets
Start by understanding the financial resources and property that may need to be considered as part of your overall legacy plan.
Bank accounts
Investments
Real estate
Business interests
Insurance proceeds
Personal property
Know what financial resources and property exist.
Responsibilities & Priorities
Debts, taxes, family needs, charitable wishes, business matters, and other responsibilities can affect how financial affairs are handled.
Debt
Taxes
Dependants
Family responsibilities
Charitable priorities
Legacy planning considers responsibilities as well as assets.
A clear legacy plan starts with understanding what you own, what you owe, and who or what matters to you.
ESTATE CONSIDERATIONS
What Happens to Your Financial Affairs?
Different assets may be handled differently after death. Ownership, beneficiary designations, legal documents, account structure, and applicable laws can all affect what happens next.
1. Estate Assets
Some assets may become part of an estate and be administered according to applicable legal documents and estate rules.
Not every asset transfers the same way.
2. Direct Transfers
Some assets or proceeds may transfer directly to a named beneficiary or another person depending on the arrangement and applicable rules.
Ownership and beneficiary choices can matter.
3. Debts & Taxes
Debts, taxes, fees, and other obligations may need to be addressed before remaining estate assets can be distributed.
Estate value is not simply the total value of everything owned.
How an asset is owned and designated can be just as important as what the asset is worth.
beneficiaries
Keep Beneficiary Information Current
Some financial products and accounts allow beneficiaries to be named. These designations should be reviewed as relationships, family circumstances, and financial priorities change.
1. Primary Beneficiary
The primary beneficiary is generally the person or entity first designated to receive applicable proceeds or assets when the designation is valid and effective.
Know who is currently named.
2. Contingent Beneficiary
A contingent beneficiary may receive applicable proceeds if the primary beneficiary cannot receive them.
A backup designation can help prepare for changing circumstances.
3. Review Regularly
Marriage, separation, divorce, births, deaths, and other major life events can make older beneficiary choices outdated.
Review beneficiary information after important life changes.
Beneficiary designations should reflect your current intentions and should be considered alongside the rest of your estate planning.
WEALTH TRANSFER
Think About How Assets May Move to Others
Wealth transfer is not only relevant to large estates. Savings, property, insurance proceeds, investments, business interests, and personal assets can all benefit from thoughtful preparation.
Financial Assets
Savings and investments may transfer differently depending on account structure, ownership, beneficiary designations, and applicable rules.
Understand how each financial account is structured.
Property & Business Interests
Real estate and business ownership can create additional legal, tax, valuation, and succession considerations.
More complex assets may require professional coordination.
Personal Priorities
Some people also want to prepare financial support for family, education, charitable causes, or other priorities.
Legacy planning can reflect both financial and personal priorities.
The goal is not simply to transfer assets—it is to prepare for a transfer that reflects your intentions as clearly as possible.
ORGANIZE WHAT MATTERS
Make Important Information Easier to Find
Financial affairs can become difficult to manage if family members or representatives cannot locate important documents, account information, or professional contacts.
1. Legal Documents
Will
Power of attorney
Health-care directive
Other applicable documents
Know which documents exist and where they are kept.
2. Financial Records
Bank accounts
Investments
Insurance
Property information
Debts
Maintain an organized record of important financial relationships.
3. Key Contacts
Lawyer
Accountant
Financial professional
Executor or representative
Trusted family contact
Make it easier for the right people to know whom to contact.
Organization can reduce confusion when someone else needs to understand or manage financial affairs.
COORDINATION MATTERS
Different Parts of a Legacy Plan May Need Different Professionals
Estate, tax, insurance, investment, business, and legal matters can overlap. Depending on the situation, several qualified professionals may need to work together.
Legal
Legal professionals may assist with wills, powers of attorney, ownership structures, estate administration, and other legal matters.
Legal documents should be handled with appropriate legal guidance.
Tax & Accounting
Tax and accounting professionals may help explain tax obligations, estate reporting, business matters, and other financial consequences.
Tax outcomes depend on individual circumstances and applicable rules.
Financial & Insurance
Licensed professionals may help explain financial products, insurance coverage, beneficiary designations, and related planning considerations within their licensed scope.
Different professionals have different responsibilities and areas of expertise.
A coordinated approach can help reduce gaps between legal, tax, insurance, and financial decisions.
FAMILY PREPARATION
A Plan Should Be Understandable to the People Who May Need It
Clear communication can help reduce uncertainty when family members or representatives need to act during a difficult time.
Identify Responsibilities
Make sure people named to important roles understand that they may have responsibilities.
Do not assume everyone knows their role.
Share What Is Appropriate
Important people may need to know where records are stored and who to contact without necessarily receiving every private financial detail in advance.
Share enough information to make the plan usable.
Revisit the Conversation
Family circumstances, relationships, assets, and priorities change over time.
Update both documents and conversations when needed.
A plan becomes more useful when the right people know it exists and how to find the information they may need.
REVIEW & ADJUST
Your Legacy Plan Should Change as Life Changes
Family relationships, assets, debts, beneficiaries, business interests, laws, and personal priorities can change. Reviewing your legacy plan helps keep it aligned with your current circumstances.
Know What You Have
Keep an updated record of major assets, debts, beneficiaries, important documents, and professional contacts.
Review Your Choices
Revisit beneficiaries, legal documents, ownership arrangements, family responsibilities, and major financial changes.
Update Your Plan
Make appropriate changes when family circumstances, assets, laws, or financial priorities change.
Know What You Have
Keep an updated record of major assets, debts, beneficiaries, important documents, and professional contacts.
Review Your Choices
Revisit beneficiaries, legal documents, ownership arrangements, family responsibilities, and major financial changes.
Update Your Plan
Make appropriate changes when family circumstances, assets, laws, or financial priorities change.
Legacy planning is not something you complete once. Review it when your family, finances, or priorities change.
Quick SELF-CHECK
How Prepared Are Your Financial Affairs?
A few practical questions can help you identify areas of your legacy planning that may need more attention.
Do you know what major assets and debts you currently have?
Do you know who is named as beneficiary on applicable accounts or policies?
Have you reviewed beneficiaries after major family changes?
Do you have current legal documents where appropriate?
Do trusted people know where important records can be found?
Have you considered who would manage your affairs if you could not?
Are legal, tax, insurance, and financial decisions coordinated where necessary?
Have you reviewed your legacy plan recently?
NEXT ACTION
Ready to Turn Reflection Into Action?
Preparing your financial affairs can make future decisions clearer for both you and the people who may eventually need to act on your behalf.
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