Estate plans involve distributing tangible assets like bank accounts and real estate after death, while legacy plans allow people to share personal philosophies and values with future generations through notes, memoirs, and designated gifts beyond basic asset distribution. While related, estate plans focus on practical asset transfer, whereas legacy plans imbue estate plans with purpose by enabling the transmission of life lessons and family history across generations.

1. Estate Plan Versus Legacy Plan -
Practicality and Purpose
By: Nick Yekani

2. Estate Plan Versus Legacy Plan - Practicality and
Purpose
Financial executive Nick Yekani serves as the president of Economics & Family, Inc., a financial
advisory and wealth management company based in Woodland Hills, California. Possessing
upwards of three decades of financial experience, Nick Yekani offers a range of services to clients,
including portfolio analysis and legacy planning.

3. Estate Plan Versus Legacy Plan - Practicality and
Purpose
Many people think that legacy planning and estate planning are the same thing. However, although
the two terms are related, they are generally used in reference to two different financial plans.

4. Estate Plan Versus Legacy Plan - Practicality and
Purpose
Of the two, estate plans are a bit more basic, and involve setting up a plan for how a person’s
physical assets are distributed after that person’s passing or incapacitation. These assets are
usually tangible, and include such things as bank accounts and real estate. If a person fails to
establish an estate plan while they are still capable, their assets are usually given to their heirs
according to state laws, rather than according to their wishes.

5. Estate Plan Versus Legacy Plan - Practicality and
Purpose
Legacy plans are a more detailed type of estate plan that gives basic estate plans a purpose
beyond distributing assets. Through a legacy plan, people can pass on their personal philosophies
to future generations via notes or personal memoirs. This is a great way of sharing family history
across multiple generations, or sharing values a person has developed over the course of their life.
Passing family heirlooms to specific family members or giving money to friends is also often a part
of a legacy plan.