By: Tim Koski, CIMA®, Founding Partner at EverPar
Key Takeaways
- Defining your family’s core values might help align financial decisions with what matters most
- Legacy planning often benefits from coordination between your financial advisor, estate attorney, tax professional, and family members
- Consider engaging your children in legacy discussions before age or health creates urgency
- EverPar is here to support your proactive approach to legacy & estate planning
At EverPar, many clients come to us focused on “the here and now.” Whether it’s managing your current financial situation, planning for retirement, or figuring out how to best utilize your assets in alignment with your goals and values.
While these immediate concerns are undoubtedly significant, I’ve observed that families who build lasting legacies often take the time to think beyond their lifetimes. They tend to understand that wealth management isn’t just about growing numbers on a statement—it’s about potentially ensuring their deepest values guide financial decisions, especially when passing the torch to the next generation.
Story: An $80 million estate planning correction
Let me share a story about a real client situation. I’ll alter specific details to support confidentiality, but the story remains a powerful one to understand.
When “John” engaged EverPar to help manage his estate, we discovered his attorney had structured most of it to flow to a family foundation controlled by the attorney and an unrelated advisor, which was not the client’s actual intention. What’s even more notable is that while he thought he had a $40 million estate, he actually had $80 million to potentially distribute to his beneficiaries.
Within 30 days, we coordinated with a new attorney to amend the trust. Instead of $60 million going to the foundation, only $10 million did. The remaining funds were redirected where the client intended: to “John’s” children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, his partner, brother, extended family, and even his housekeeper and gardener.
Without a coordinated approach to identify and address this misalignment, this client’s true intentions and his family’s financial future could have been compromised.
Active stewardship of legacy planning
This story illustrates a consideration about legacy planning: creating documents and assuming they’ll work as intended might not be sufficient. Estate plans often benefit from ongoing attention, regular reviews, and clear communication with the people who will be affected by them.
Many families discover misalignments in their planning only after it may be too late to make corrections. The difference between reactive and proactive legacy planning could potentially impact whether your true intentions are honored or get lost in legal complexities.
We often encourage our clients to consider legacy planning as an ongoing conversation rather than a one-time event, and to think about creating a framework that might evolve with your family’s changing circumstances while staying true to your core values.
Ideas for engaging younger generations
While it may feel difficult to talk about a future without you, involving your children, nieces and/or nephews in your legacy plans today might help ensure they aren’t blindsided by whatever could happen in the future.
For clients at EverPar, we’re here to support. This engagement might include discussions about:
- Estate planning and wealth transfer – Consider helping them understand what they might inherit and how their inheritance could support your family values
- Business succession planning – Next-generation family members might benefit from understanding their potential role and responsibilities in the family business
- Philanthropic goals – You may want to share your charitable intentions and consider how younger family members might want to contribute to causes that matter to them
- Financial education – Consider preparing your children to handle wealth responsibly, whether managing personal finances or stewarding family assets
Questions you might consider for legacy planning
As you think about your family’s generational wealth transfer, there are questions worth potentially discussing during a meeting with your EverPar advisor. These conversations might help ensure your needs are being addressed and that family members understand their potential role in preserving your family’s wealth and values.
Here are some questions I often pose to clients when having these conversations:
- How might we better prepare the next generation to be thoughtful stewards of your family’s wealth and values?
- What family stories and values do you want to consider passing down along with financial assets?
- Are your current estate planning documents aligned with your latest wishes and family circumstances?
- What opportunities might exist to involve the next generation in your family foundation or charitable giving?
- How should we potentially structure conversations about wealth transfer to prepare your heirs without overwhelming them?
- What additional family members should we consider building relationships with to help ensure continuity?
- Are there family business succession planning elements we might want to address more proactively?
Planning beyond the numbers
At EverPar, we understand that wealth can be a tool to create a better life for the people you care about most, today and for generations to come. Our greatest satisfaction often comes from watching families use their resources to enrich lives in meaningful ways, which might include funding education, supporting causes they believe in, and providing security for future generations.
If you’re stepping into the role of managing family wealth or want to explore whether your legacy plans truly reflect your values, we’re here to help. Our Foundation Session is designed specifically for families who may be navigating these important transitions. Contact us to learn more about this first meeting.
Tim Koski, CIMA®, is a Founding Partner at EverPar
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