Legacy Giving and Estate Planning: Passing on Values, Not Just Assets
Most estate plans are built around a single question: who gets what? For many Christian families in Newport Beach and across Coastal Orange County, that question matters, but it is not the whole picture. The deeper question is what kind of legacy the money is actually carrying. Is it just an inheritance, or is it also a reflection of how this family thought about generosity, faith, and stewardship while they were alive to model it?
This post is the first in a short series on estate planning and legacy giving. The next two go further into specific tax-smart tools and how to structure an inheritance that builds character in the next generation rather than just transferring assets.
Inheritance and Legacy Are Not the Same Thing
An inheritance is a transfer of assets. A legacy is what that transfer communicates. Two families can leave the exact same dollar amount to their children and leave very different legacies, depending on how that money was earned, how it was given away during their lifetime, and what values were attached to it along the way.
For many Christians, this distinction matters because of how stewardship is understood: what you have was entrusted to you, not simply earned for your own use. That principle does not stop applying the moment you write a will. If anything, an estate plan is one of the clearest places to put stewardship into practice, because it is one of the last and largest financial decisions most people will make.
Common Questions I Hear From Clients
A few versions of the same underlying question come up repeatedly:
Is it actually wise, or even biblical, to leave a large inheritance to my children?
Should I give more of this away now, while I am alive to see the impact, rather than waiting until I am gone?
How do I make sure my children understand where this money came from and why we gave the way we did?
How do I build giving to my church and the ministries we support into my estate plan, not just my annual budget?
There is no universal answer to any of these. The right answer depends on the family, the size of the estate, the ages and maturity of the children, and what this specific family believes about money, work, and generosity. What I can offer is a framework for thinking it through clearly, and the technical tools to carry out whatever decision a family lands on.
Giving During Life Versus Giving at Death
Many of the families I work with want to do both: continue tithing and giving consistently while they are alive, and also build charitable giving into their estate plan so it continues afterward. These are not competing strategies. A donor-advised fund, for example, can be funded during your lifetime and continue making grants to your church and favorite ministries for years after you are gone, with your children potentially stepping in as successor advisors. I go into this in more detail in Donor Advised Funds for Christian Givers: Supporting Your Church and Favorite Ministries Wisely.
Where This Series Goes Next
In the next post, I cover the specific tools, charitable bequests, beneficiary designations, and trusts, that let you build giving into your estate plan in a tax-efficient way, including a strategy many people overlook involving retirement accounts. In the post after that, I go into a harder and more personal question many parents ask: how do you leave an inheritance that builds character instead of entitlement?
The Bottom Line
An estate plan is not only a legal and financial document. For families who think about money through the lens of faith and stewardship, it is also one of the clearest statements they will ever make about what mattered most to them. Building that in from the start, rather than treating it as an afterthought, tends to produce a result the whole family is more at peace with.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it biblical or wise to leave a large inheritance to my children? There is no single answer that applies to every family. Many Christian families weigh this by considering their children's maturity, the values they want the inheritance to reinforce, and how much of their giving they want to happen during their lifetime versus through their estate. A financial advisor can help model different scenarios so the decision is informed rather than guessed at.
What is values-based estate planning? Values-based estate planning means building an estate plan around what a family wants their wealth to communicate and accomplish, not just who receives which assets. For many Christian families, this includes continuing charitable giving, supporting their church, and structuring an inheritance in a way that reflects stewardship.
Should I give to my church and favorite charities now or wait until my estate is settled? Most families benefit from doing both. Giving during your lifetime lets you see the impact and model generosity for your children, while building charitable giving into your estate plan, often through a donor-advised fund or a beneficiary designation, ensures that giving continues afterward.
Does KCL Wealth Management draft wills and trusts? No. Katherine Leonard, CPA, CFP®, is a financial advisor and CPA, not an estate planning attorney, and does not draft legal documents. She helps clients think through the financial and tax strategy behind an estate plan and coordinates with the client's estate planning attorney to make sure the legal documents reflect that strategy.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice. Please consult your own financial, tax, and legal advisors regarding your specific situation.