How do I decide to whom I should leave my estate? (Step One: The Transfer Decision)

Hello, my name is Ron Blue, and when we think about wealth transfer, the very first question is where does it go? Who gets it? And you really only have three choices. You can leave it to heirs, you can leave it to charity, or you can leave it, in some cases, to the government, and to attorneys in terms of expenses.

Where do I leave my wealth is the first fundamental question. I think there are three principles to follow. First of all is the treasure principle. Matthew 6:19-24 says you can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead. That’s my summary of Matthew 6:19-24. You can send it on ahead of you. So where is your treasure going to be - is it going to here or is it going to be in eternity?

Secondly is what I would call the unity principle. That is that a husband and wife should be in perfect agreement on where that wealth goes to. That is a difficult task in a lot of cases, because husbands and wives have different ways of looking at things. And so, coming to a unified decision will allow you come to the best decision.

And then, the third decision, the third principle is this: that’s the wisdom principle. Very succinctly, it says: If you’re not going to leave wisdom, for sure don’t leave wealth. Wisdom can create wealth. Wealth almost never creates wisdom. In fact, it may be the biggest detriment to wisdom, because wisdom comes from life experiences. And the more you leave your children or your grandchildren or your great-grandchildren, the more you’re shielding them from life’s experiences. So think about those three principles as you ask the first question, “Where am I going to leave it?”

Click here for the July 24, 2009 Blog Entry