CHAPTER 8
At the End of the Day
Our lives are but a blip on the evolutionary time line—but our legacies can last forever. One gladiator preparing for battle said, what you do in life, echoes in eternity. Hopefully your legacy will be etched in the hearts and minds of those you loved, based on what you did in life, not what you failed to do. To a large degree, you control your legacy. You are the president of Me, Inc.
Our lives can be complicated, and effective estate planning may seem easier said than done. For some, balancing the needs of a second spouse with the needs of children from prior marriages could be the thorny issue. For others, choosing a successor leader for the family business and figuring out how the wealth should be equitably divided is the sticky wicket. For too many, their children didn’t play well together when they were young, and don’t get along well now. If riches are a curse, at least one milkman said, please smite me with it now. But distributing such wealth so that it helps loved ones and needy ones alike, can be a daunting task. We hope to live long productive lives, but as Sophocles once said, you never know when your number’s up. Hmmm . . . maybe it wasn’t Sophocles, but someone once said it.
There are several constants in the American family quilt? First, an inheritance can provide great warmth or leave some feeling out in the cold. Second, ambiguity opens the door to differing interpretations. Third, differing interpretations combined with a possible ...
