We Are Their Ambassadors

How do you want to be remembered?

We ask clients this question during our first meeting together. It’s not a question you expect to hear in a financial planner’s office, but it’s one of the most critical questions we ask. We aim to help you align your use of capital with what you value most. How could we do this critical work without understanding your values and your concept of legacy?  

What does “legacy” stems from the Latin verb legare, meaning “to appoint by a last will” or “to send as an ambassador.”  This root meaning resonates with every answer I’ve heard to the question, “How do you want to be remembered?”

I have never heard “for fame, wealth or power.” What I have heard is, “as someone who was always there for others, a good spouse, parent, child, or friend, someone who has impacted the people around me for the better.” Perhaps the true legacy lies in the people we leave behind, just as we are the ambassadors for those who came before us.  

When my dad jokes about taking a tower of Thanksgiving leftovers all for himself, he carries on the legacy of my great-grandmother Margarie, who was notorious for the same. My mom lives her great-great-grandmother Maggie’s legacy of generosity when she uses the same serving bowl that Maggie filled with food for Depression-era railroad workers.  

When my husband shows grit and gratitude in his work and life, he carries on the legacy of his great-grandfather Reynaldo, who spoke of his adopted country, America, with reverence. My sister, who lives with an inherent sense of adventure, takes the time to maintain friendships from every stage of life, like our great-uncle Michael, who has dear friends worldwide.   

When my dad tells me the type of every tree in sight, he passes on the legacy of my grandfather Steve, a forestry major who seems to know everything about trees. My grandmother Karen, who taught me to make chicken and dumplings, learned from my great-grandmother Betty. To this day, I can’t eat chicken and dumplings, banana pudding, or biscuits without remembering her.   

HOW CAN WE HONOR THEM?

First, by stopping to remember them. To notice them in those around and within us. To pay forward their lessons, jokes, values, and recipes.  

It’s not about reducing the word “legacy” to a mere financial inheritance. Their sacrifices carry a weight far greater than ensuring financial security. While financial planning is critical work, honoring those before us goes beyond a simple financial to-do list.

SERVING YOUR LEGACY

So, how can we best serve our clients’ legacies? I believe it starts with taking time to reflect. By helping you create a framework that aligns your time and money with what truly matters, we can then tackle the to-do list together. Our goal is to ensure that your legacy aligns with what’s most important to you. Here are some key areas we focus on to help achieve that.

• Estate Planning: Have a well-crafted estate plan is crucial. It’s important to not only have a plan but to fully understand it and update it as life or laws change. For example, in 2026, the current estate tax exemption is set to be cut in half and adjusted for inflation, which may require you to revisit their estate plan. 
• Tax Planning: Paying your fair share of taxes, but never more than necessary, is essential. One effective strategy is gifting highly appreciated securities to their Donor-Advised Fund (DAF), which allows the gift to grow, tax-free while providing immediate tax benefits.
• Investment Planning:  It’s essential to have an investment plan that you can stick with through inevitable market volatility. For couples, it’s also important to have a strategy in place for the partner who doesn’t manage the finances, ensuring they can confidently move forward if they outlive the partner who handles the family assets.

We also serve our clients’ children. You’ve put in the hard work of instilling values and guiding them through the crucial early years. Regardless of their stage of life, we will meet them where they are—and learn how we can help.

• Personal Finance 101: We have conversations about the basics – emergency funds, credit cards, the power of compounding, and how to set up 401(k)s, savings, investment accounts, and appropriate insurance coverage. 
• Life’s transitions: We guide them through major decisions, like buying their first home, as well as act as a sounding board for questions such as: Should we buy a vacation home? Spend the money on travel? Save or invest?
• Financial complexities: Eventually, your children will face their own versions of the questions that first brought you to RK, and we’ll be there to help them navigate those challenges.

Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, explains a lesson from her dad:

We’d sit around the dinner table, and he’d ask, “What did you guys fail at this week?” If we had nothing to tell him, he’d be disappointed. The logic seems counterintuitive, but it worked beautifully. He knew that many people become paralyzed by the fear of failure. My father wanted us to try everything and feel free to push the envelope.

His attitude taught me to define failure as not trying something I want to do instead of not achieving the right outcome.”  

In 2012, Forbes Magazine named Sara the world’s youngest, self-made female billionaire and one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People. I believe this lesson from her dad impacted her future more than any inheritance ever could have.  

How are you equipping your heirs to live a life they will be proud of? How are you sending them on as an ambassador? I hope that we can all take time to honor those before us and be intentional with those after us, and ask ourselves:  How do you want to be remembered?