Wealth Insights
Leaving a legacy: How will you be remembered?

Article 7 min read

Updated April 22, 2025

A financial inheritance is only one aspect of your family legacy.

Everyone wants to be remembered, and by planning your legacy, you can have a say in how your loved ones remember you.

There are countless ways to leave behind a tangible legacy, including a financial gift, valuable heirlooms, charitable trusts, or ownership in a business or home. But leaving an intangible, more sentimental legacy can be just as valuable, says Maya Brill, Senior Wealth Strategist at Regions.

“A legacy is more than just financial assets,” she says. “It’s the sharing and continuation of our core values, beliefs, and life experiences aimed at inspiring future generations.”

How to leave a legacy

Ask yourself:

What do you want your family to remember about you?
What life lessons do you want to pass on to your grandchildren?
What mistakes did you make that you want future generations to avoid?
What family traditions do you want to pass down?

With the help of an advisor who understands you and the goals near to your heart, you can take intentional steps toward building your legacy.

Your advisor can help facilitate family meetings that build a bridge from one generation to the next, ensuring family history and important values are communicated clearly. “Having these meetings uncovers what everyone’s values are and provides a venue for asking questions and understanding what is important,” Brill says.

“Your wealth plan should reflect what is important to you, whether that’s establishing philanthropic structures that involve family members or making sure the family vacation home can remain a place for generations to recharge,” she says.

If generosity and philanthropy are core values, your next steps could be to start a private foundation run by your family members or create a donor-advised fund that relies on the family to choose grants.

If a family business is at the heart of your legacy, an effort to incorporate family values in official documentation may be in order, including buy-sell agreements, employment contracts and operational guidelines.

From recipes to websites, legacy planning takes many forms

Legacy planning isn’t one-size-fits all.

Your steps to leave a legacy might include creating a personal video accompanied by musical lyrics that have meaning to you, a scrapbook of pictures with captions, family genealogy research, a cookbook with family recipes, or an entire after-life website where you can leave a personal statement with audio or video messages. It’s about sharing your personal values with loved ones, and that can be anyone you have a deep connection with.

Whether you want to share your legacy with your children, a niece, a friend, a religious community, or a social organization, it’s never too early to start thinking about the legacy you’d like to leave.

Many people wait until retirement to begin considering their legacy. “This is when they have time, and when they’re often trying to redefine the meaning of their lives,” Brill says. “They’ve reached a point where they’re asking themselves, ‘What’s really important to me?’”

It's also important to discuss your plans with your children and heirs, says Brill, who offers these 10 tips and topics to consider covering.

Set up a meeting with your wealth advisor and adult children. Your advisor can help navigate the emotional aspects of the conversation on how a wealth transfer will proceed. Consider the value of a corporate trustee to help maintain family peace and avoid unnecessary conflicts.
Explain your preferences on how your wealth will be used. Plan for when you are gone as if you were still living.
Set parameters about how and to whom your money will be distributed. Are there any requirements for your heirs to receive the money?
Talk about changes in family dynamics— such as divorce, multiple marriages and blended families — how would these events impact your wealth transfer.
Discuss philanthropy. What matters most? Do you have any charitable causes that you want to support in the future?
Set education expectations for future heirs. Do they involve undergraduate and postgraduate studies? What are your expectations of grandchildren and great-grandchildren?
Discuss family legacy and what that might mean for your children, especially if it involves a family business or community activities, boards and charities that your heirs can continue to honor with their involvement.
If you are a business owner, consider engaging a corporate trustee who can help eliminate any succession issues in the future. Early succession planning is key to a smooth transition, regardless of circumstances.
Be honest. Your heirs need to know where you stand.
Schedule time to review. Review these items every three to five years or when a major life event occurs in the family including marriage, birth, divorce or death.