Traditionally, estate planning has focused primarily on what happens after one’s death. Often, financial wealth is passed on outright without any conditions or safeguards. While this may have sufficed in the past, much has changed.
Today’s American families are realizing that these outdated, traditional estate planning methods are failing them and their families. They seek a more holistic approach to deal with today’s real life issues.
The Evolving Needs and Circumstances of Today’s Modern Families
First, let’s consider some of the real life issues many people face today that we didn’t several decades ago. There’s divorce (especially one’s children’s divorces), second marriages after the death of a spouse, creditor concerns, and passing on family traditions and values that would be overlooked in traditional estate planning.
Any one of these issues can wipe out an entire inheritance in a single generation, leaving little to no chance of one’s wealth making it to a third generation.
Our Unique Approach
At ATL Global Advisors, we approach things differently. Our goal is to go beyond surface level of estate planning and help protect families from these real life issues while they are alive, as well as protecting and passing on their financial and non-financial goals.
Historically, a family’s wealth is squandered within three generations. With the planning options we make available, families are able to protect their heirs from future mistakes by being proactive years, and possibly generations, in advance.
We incorporate planning methods that address their estate concerns while incorporating a holistic approach to help families build in incentives and conditions on the financial wealth and document their values, wisdom, family history, items with sentimental and emotional importance, and their desires for the future.
Our Process
Our holistic estate planning model is broken into four distinct areas to help families consider the legacy they will pass on. These four areas are:
- Core Values
- Life Experiences
- Contribution to the Community
- Financial Assets
All four of these areas play an important role in an estate plan and integrate with one another. We work closely with your family to identify and communicate your core values, including what matters most to your family and what impact you envision leaving on the world. We also address your life experiences and contributions to the community, from the organizations and causes you support to the ones you wish to support in the future. Lastly, all of these elements tie into your financial assets, which help us evaluate the type of legacy you can leave and how.
Like all of our services, we seek to provide our clients with a clear understanding of where they are in their financial life and how to reach their desired destination.
Does Your Estate Plan Incorporate Your Family Values and Concerns?
No one likes to think about the end of their life, but if you want to set your loved ones up for success, you need to have a plan in place. If all of this seems overwhelming to you, you’re not alone. That’s why so many people avoid estate planning and leave their families with a mess. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We are here to help.
At ATL Global Advisors, we want to help you define, gather and preserve what is yours. We can help you with every aspect of your estate planning, from leaving an inheritance to defining the legacy you wish to leave. Email me at morgan.marlin@atl-ga.net, or click here to book your free introductory meeting.
About Morgan
Morgan Marlin is the director of financial planning at ATL Global Advisors, an independent financial services firm serving transportation and logistics employees in the greater Atlanta area. Along with nearly 10 years of industry experience, she holds a B.S. in International Trade. She focuses on helping her clients plan for the next stages in life like retirement planning, managing risk, and defining financial objectives that integrate their family values. Learn more by connecting with Morgan on Linked-in.