Like “Financial Planning,” “Leaving a Legacy” Means Different Things to Different People
I had a breakfast meeting this morning with Alli Joseph, creator of Seventh Generation Stories, who shared with me her vision as to the meaning of the word “legacy.” Customarily, in the financial professions and in the estate planning field, we generally think of “leaving a legacy” in financial terms, or otherwise with respect to property and inheritance. A life insurance death benefit, for example, held in a dynasty trust or otherwise, can be used to fund education, or for a home purchase, or to build a business, etc., and can last for generations. But Alli Joseph considers the phrase legacy more broadly, to include a person’s oral and pictorial recollection of family, friends and events which have shaped their life. Seventh Generation Stories offers ‘personal historian services,’ and their projects range from collating someone’s old photographs, to a full production video and published volume which recalls a person’s entire lifetime. Alli Joseph writes:
“Sometimes, we lose family members before their time and before their stories are told. Unlike material things, your family’s value to you never changes. They are our past, our present, our future.”
Family history projects are unique, emotional, and fun. What was it like when you were growing up? Where did you live? What were your parents like? Your room? Your home? What significant events were going on in the world at the time? How did you decide what to do for a living? What made you love it/hate it? Did you do community service work, or perhaps belong to a faith-based community? These are some of the questions we may ask you to consider, and the answers are ones only you can give; your memories are the gems your family will treasure for many generations to come.
Founder Alli Joseph or one of our skilled interviewers will then guide you through a conversational interview recorded on a digital audio device, if you’re doing a book or other print project, or on digital video, if we’re working on a video project. Interviews can run from two to twelve hours and can be completed over a period of days or weeks.
Alli Joseph lives near me in Peter Cooper Village/Stuyvesant Town, and so our circle of connections overlaps. Hopefully we’ll be able to converge our work for the community, and make the term ‘legacy’ mean a great deal more than dollars and cents.
Check out Seventh Generations Stories , and consider whether you can offer an additional value-added service to your clients by way of expanding on what it means to ‘leave a legacy’ to one’s children and grandchildren.