Here's Why Estate Planning is Key In the Black Community

Why Estate Planning is Key In the Black Community

“Legacy, legacy, legacy, legacy Black excellence baby, you gon’ let ’em see”

-Jay-Z

 

Legacy

While watching Black Panther, we witnessed the crown being passed down from T’Chaka to T’Challa,  Of course, T’Challa had to defend his right to the throne but he inherited the African Nation of Wakanda!  Although the movie is fiction, it is a perfect example of a father bequeathing his sons legacy.  The question we must ask ourselves is, “What will we leave our prince and princesses when we die?”

Death

T’Challa’s father dies in Captain America: Civil War when a building explodes as he is giving a speech.  Hopefully, we will not to face death this way but one day we will surely take our final breath.  When we take this final breath,  it is important for us to have a plan in place for our estate.  The last thing we want is our grieving families is to have to deal with our financial mess.

Five Steps to Creating Your Plan

• If you have dependents, get Life Insurance TODAY (Consider purchasing it even if you don’t have kids).  A GoFundMe account is not a solid financial plan.
• Make sure you designate a beneficiary on all of your accounts
• Create a password protected document with all your account information.  Be sure to include that secret account you are hiding from your spouse 🙂
• Create a will and be sure to get it notarized.  The laws for creating wills may be differ depending on which state you live in so do your research.
• If you have a really complex financial situation, consider hiring an estate planner

Estate Planner

On the Journey to Launch podcast, Jamila spoke with Estate Planner Art Steele.  Art Steele is a lawyer who strongly believes that estate planning is paramount in the Black community.  She speaks at length about what we can do to close the racial wealth gap.  While most experts usually recommend not buying life insurance if you have no dependents, she recommends purchasing it even if you do not have children.  Someone without children can pass life insurance money onto their next of kin to help us build!

Call to Action

Hopefully this article has convinced you that estate planning is essential to creating generational wealth for the Black community.  Take action today by reviewing the steps listed to creating your plan.  If you need help, consult a professional like Art Steele.  Also, do not forget to listen to the podcast above that contains a lot of useful information about estate planning.  Let’s pass our wealth onto our princes and princesses!  The remix to Jay-Z’s legacy lyric should be, “Black excellence baby, We gon’ let ’em see!” (See Related Post)]]>

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