I was recently asked, “How does your view of passing on an inheritance factor in your minimizing?”
I responded with a quote from Peter Strople I’ve never forgotten:
Legacy is not leaving something for people. It’s leaving something in people.
The inheritance we pass on to our children is more than the material possessions or the financial assets outlined in our will. It also includes the legacy we leave and the example we set. In this way, inheritance is more than what we usually think about.
This is an important perspective—and the ramifications are significant.
Interestingly, the very definition of inheritance includes this reality:
inheritance
noun
: something, as a quality, characteristic, or other immaterial possession, received from progenitors or predecessors as if by succession.
The inheritance we leave for our children extends beyond the material things in our attic or the zeroes in our bank account. Our inheritance also includes the example we live, the moral compass we set, the character we develop, and the name we build for ourselves and our family.
This is important to remember, first of all, for those with little financial wealth. Regardless of the dollar amount contained in your will, you can still pass on to your children (and their children) a valuable inheritance by living a life of character and decency focused on the things that matter most. This inheritance, by the way, is more valuable in the long run than a dollar figure anyway.
This truth about immaterial inheritance is also relevant and challenging to those with financial means. When wealth is added to the equation, it becomes very tempting to define and focus only on the material possessions that we desire to pass on: the house, the land, the bank accounts, the businesses.
But relatively speaking, these assets are less important than the character traits and the life model we will inevitably pass on to our children. For our kids’ sake, it is shortsighted to spend our lives focused too much on financial wealth, rather than character development.
Regardless of your net worth, if you have family, you will pass on an inheritance. Let’s remember the gifts we can leave to our children extend far beyond material possessions. And work diligently to focus on the most important.
Pam Hartley says
I love the statement about leaving something in people. That lives on, never wearing out, fading, or breaking.
Peggy says
Perfect timing for me to read this article and also interesting timing due to a particular situation I am dealing with.
Thank you so much for validating what I’ve always believed to be true. It’s hard to keep my beliefs strong amidst so many people who believe that the bank account and the financial inheritance is the GOAL!
veronica says
Wow. I completely misread the opening sentence “How does your view of passing on an inheritance factor in your minimizing”. I had interpreted “passing on” to mean declining, as in declining an inheritance (aka stuff) left to you.
Leslie says
You’re not alone! That was my first interpretation, as well. I read, re-read, then on reading forward caught the gist of the article. That “turn of a phrase”! It’s easy to see how miscommunication can happen – even among native speakers.
It is curious to contemplate the possibility of passing, as in declining, the “stuff” of inheritance. It seems to be a package deal – we take the good (desired $) with the bad (undesired), separate the wheat from the chaff. It’s part of the process that we all are hoping to simplify for our children, while also creating more intentional lives for ourselves now.
Tamra Fricke says
I’m happy to know someone else misread the title! I, too, thought “passing on an inheritance “ meant declining to accept one. I wonder if that comes from never having received a significant one?
Mike Wanek says
The values that are expressed here do much to restore my faith that goodness and sanity are still evident in the world. Life is not about “things”, it is about how much love, and integrity and goodness we leave behind. Thank you!
Tony W says
You words ring so true. There are parents that are considered successful. They have lived a life of shady backroom deals, robbing and cheating others.
They treat their spouses, children and other family members poorly but still in the eyes of society they are successful.
They leave their children an inheritance of financial wealth but also this poor example of how to behave in the world.
You often see the children mirroring that same behavior and experiencing the same negative effect on their family life but yet again they are considered successful by many societal standards.
Thanks for pointing out the definition of “inheritance” and it’s true meaning.
Anita says
Apt as I prepare my will this month. Thank you so much for highlighting this Joshua.
Lorin Hall says
Honour and decency are passed on from generation to generation. My family from way back were heavily involved in the Union in England when conditions were appalling and they were also involved in community work. That empathy for the underdog has been passed down and down through the years and i am very glad it has. Not a lot of money but really, whats more important.
Kate@minimalistinthecity says
An awesome read. Many times, we think about inheritance as something that is tangible but the intangibles go far beyond and that is something that we have a lot to think about as a society.
Aimee says
A reminder I think we all need. Thank you! :) The time we have with our kids and what we do with that/instill in them is worth the most of all.
Patti says
I find this greatly encouraging! Due to some bad financial decisions in the early 2000’s, my husband and I have a very modest bank account. While we are only in our 50’s and still have time to reverse that, it can be frustrating to realize that we will probably never have the assets we used to have. But we know that we have given our children many other things that money can’t buy, not the least of which are unconditional love, acceptance, and encouragement.
aurelie says
Patti,
My parents have gone through rought financial times in the past and my dad passed away with hardly no assets. What I’ve got from them is that when life is hard, you have to hold tight, that family is everything, that experience elevated while things slow you down. With their education I have a strong base is terms of values that I can put to good use in building my own life. This is priceless to me. Just wanted to write a little encouragement <3