Opinion: Want to leave a legacy? Start with an estate plan

Ashley Silva

For many Ozarks families, the largest asset isn’t an investment portfolio: It’s a farm, a small business, a commercial or rental property or a family home. The question isn’t whether those assets will change hands. The question is whether that transition will happen intentionally or by default.

The week of Oct. 19–25 is National Estate Planning Awareness Week, which was established by Congress in 2008 to encourage Americans to learn about estate planning and protect assets built over a lifetime.

Such awareness is only growing more important with time. In 2023, the Missouri Alliance of Community Foundations commissioned a Transfer of Wealth study that found more than $153 billion will change hands in our state by 2033. Over the next 50 years, that figure is closer to $500 billion statewide and more than $150 billion right here in southern Missouri and the Ozarks. National studies estimate 80% of this wealth will go to heirs and another 18% to charity. As a result, millennials are expected to inherit more wealth than any previous generation. For the nonprofits, schools and churches that receive charitable bequests, the sums could be transformative.

And while these figures are large-scale, they will play out one family, farm, business and charitable gift at a time, especially across southern Missouri.

However, Caring.com estimates only about 24% of Americans have a will. Many postpone planning because they believe they don’t have enough assets. Others assume their family knows what they want and will “work it out.” Unfortunately, factors like probate, family disputes, unclear business succession and unintended beneficiaries can cloud the picture. Proper planning can ensure a person’s family and charitable wishes are met as quickly and seamlessly as possible.

To challenge another common misconception: Estate planning is not only for the wealthy. While many assume wills and trusts are the tools of millionaires, in reality, anyone who owns a home, has retirement savings, runs a business, or wants to provide for loved ones already has an estate worth planning for.

That’s where your family’s trusted estate planning professional and your local community foundation come in. The Community Foundation of the Ozarks counts more than 150 attorneys and financial advisors among its Professional Advisors Council, and provides regular education and insight on trends in the field. These professional advisors are more than financial and legal experts — they understand how to ensure a family’s wishes are executed appropriately and legacies are preserved.

Estate planning is about transferring wealth, yes, but it’s also about transferring values through endowments for a favored nonprofit, school or religious institution, or by establishing scholarships or family charitable funds. Planning gifts now allows people to support the causes they care about while still prioritizing family needs.

And it’s with this concept of “legacy in addition to family” where the CFO provides value to professional advisers. We have 53 years of experience establishing, investing and maintaining such charitable funds for all manner of causes across the Ozarks. In fact, we recently passed the $1 billion milestone in total gifts received since our inception in 1973, and through these funds have granted more than $750 million, the vast majority of it right here in the Ozarks. This would not have been possible without the partnership and wisdom of local professional advisors, and the trust and generosity of so many families committed to leaving a legacy for their communities.

If nothing else, I hope National Estate Planning Awareness Week serves as a reminder to local families and business owners that you have a legacy to leave right now, and that the process of securing that legacy is more accessible and necessary than you think. Because in the end, estate planning isn’t really about documents and real estate. It’s not even about dollars and cents. It’s about ensuring the people and causes that matter most are cared for according to your wishes.

Our greatest legacy is the impact we entrust to future generations. That is to carry forward. That’s the power of estate planning.

Ashley Silva is vice president of development and philanthropic services for the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. She can be reached at asilva@cfozarks.org.