While most of our clients have a laser focus on building their wealth to achieve financial independence and a secure retirement, we’ve noticed that fewer people plan an intentional legacy. Legacies take many forms, but setting aside money for your family or a particular cause is something that we at Denver PWM can help you think through and achieve. The wealth you have created over your life can be a transformative tool for the people and causes you care about.

 

Philanthropy: Impacting the social causes you care about

 

At its core, money provides opportunity. Once our clients have secured a comfortable future for themselves and their families, they often turn to thinking about larger questions. Many of our clients come to us with an interest in supporting charities or social causes that they care about. Much of life is spent trying to find acceptance and purpose, so the gifts you give to these important causes can help give more meaning to all of your life’s hard work. And while people only think of donating cash, there are many other creative options to help fund the charities of your choice: Rolling over portions of your IRAs, gifting real estate or private investments, and donating stocks that have risen in value are just a few ways to give to a charity you’re passionate about.

 

It’s not just the type of assets you give but how you give them which matters as well. Here are a few options:

• Large lump sums of cash
• Endowments
• A pledge over a given number of years

 

Each of these strategies has particular strengths, and we can help you choose the one that makes sense for your situation. While it can be advantageous from a tax perspective to donate your money to charity, it really comes down to how you want your wealth to be used. Once you craft a vision for how you want your impact to be made, working with professionals such as those at Denver PWM can help create strategies to give life to that vision.

 

Impacting family members

 

While social causes and charities are important, many of our clients are just as focused on setting up future generations of their family for success. What “success” looks like for your children and grandchildren can vary greatly from family to family. Some people want to pay college costs for their grandkids. Some people are focused on creating memories for their families by leaving a vacation home to their children or enough money for the whole extended family to take trips together. Whatever your goals, there’s a gifting strategy that suits your needs. Determining how you want your family to remember you can be daunting, but it gives you an opportunity to write your legacy. Using your wealth to set your family up for success can help guide future generations.  While there may not be as many tax benefits when gifting to your family, the opportunity to take care of your loved ones can be just as important for some people.

 

Conclusion:

 

At Denver PWM, it’s our job to help you think through what they want your legacy to be. By helping you look  beyond the horizons of their own lives and the impact they want to leave once they’re gone, we help you  foster a sense of fulfillment and purpose in the people we work with. Once we know what you want your legacy to be, it’s our job as advisors to implement the best strategies for you to achieve their legacies. Please feel free to reach out with any questions on your unique situation. We’d love to help!