Legacy Assessment: What’s Important to You?

When I released my book, Your Meaning Legacy, last year, I directed readers to an online Meaning Legacy Assessment. In just 13 questions, you can determine what’s important to you and what isn’t. It also helps you determine which non-financial components of your legacy you’ve already handled and which ones need some work. The assessment includes questions like, “How important is a sense of purpose or meaning to you?” and “How important is it to have a shared family philosophy?” Assessment takers answer with: 1) Not important, 2) Somewhat important, or 3) Extremely important. Of the people who took the assessment, 4% were ages 21-30, 7% were ages 31-40, 22% were ages 41-50, 30% were ages 51-65, and 37% were ages 66+. This response indicates that legacy becomes more important as you age and have children. 85% of the assessment takers had children (and many had grandchildren), leaving only 15% that didn’t have children. A full 100% said that having a sense of meaning or purpose was extremely important to them. But not everyone agreed that every aspect of legacy matters to their lives.

Which Legacy Issues Are Most-Important?

These are the top five issues that people rated as “Extremely important”: Which Legacy Issues Are Most-Important? Ranking very last on the list was this question: “How important is it that your family participates in a faithbased organization that reflects your beliefs?” Only 31% of people indicated that this was extremely important to them.

Which Elements Have You Incorporated into Your Life and Estate Plan?

Some people indicated that they had done a lot of work on their legacies, while others were just getting started. Here’s what they answered when asked which of the following elements they had incorporated into their life and estate plan: Which Elements Have You Incorporated into Your Life and Estate Plan? When you think about your own legacy, what elements are most-important to you? Take the Meaning Legacy Assessment to start thinking about what matters to you. For more articles on timeless wisdom and legacy planning, click here to subscribe to Legacy Arts Magazine. Related: Wealthy Millennials Starting New Families Should Keep Estate Planning Top of Mind