August is recognized as “What Will Be Your Legacy?” month, founded by motivational speaker and author Martha J. Ross-Rodgers in honor of her mother, Ida Dale Ross, who died in 1995.
The month is set aside for people to consider the legacy they will leave behind to those they love. Every generation learns from the generation before it, and the designation of this month encourages us to make positive changes that will impact our loved ones.
What is Legacy Planning?
Legacy planning(sometimes referred to as legacy estate planning) focuses primarily on end-of-life plans. Through legacy planning, individuals will create and implement a plan that addresses issues such as life insurance, benefits of a will, and burial plans. From a non-financial standpoint, legacy estate planning also gives you an opportunity to assess how you wish to be remembered after you’re gone.
Your Legacy
What do you want your legacy to be? Some common responses to that question can include:
“I was a good parent”
“I made a positive change in the people around me”
“I was financially responsible”
“My children had a better life than me”
“What Will be Your Legacy?” month is meant for people of all ages to reevaluate the impact they make on others, but it can also serve as a reminder to put proper thought into prepaid burial plans.
No matter how hard someone works to leave a positive legacy on their loved ones, it can be overshadowed when at-need burial planning, and other monetary hardships, cause undue emotional and financial stress on a family still reeling from a loss.
Legacy Planning
By planning ahead, you can be sure that your loved ones are not stuck with a bill they may not be able to afford. When a pre-paid burial is part of your legacy estate planning, you can ensure that your family will not have to deal with the financial strain, because everything was purchased in advance. By planning your burial now, there are also cost-saving opportunities, as you’re locking on today’s costs for an event that will happen in the future.
When you consider all of your burial options—and there are a lot of them—and make finite plans, your family is not stuck making decisions for you when they are already grieving. It eliminates the potential for family strife, as everyone knows exactly what you wanted already.
So, what do you want your legacy to be? A person who cared enough about his or her loved ones to lessen the financial and emotional stresses associated with an at-need burial? Take a look at all of the burial options on our memorialplanning.com and request a free, no-obligation planning kit to start planning that aspect of your legacy.
