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.
Nanette says
I have recently joined your email list. I am so enlightened by the articles, stories, and advice. There is so much “to unpack” so to speak, but I will share one story….we are cleaning out my mom’s garage and she has kept every paper she has touched over the past 90 years of her life (i.e., birth announcements, wedding invites, greeting cards, church bulletins, etc.). I think about all of these lost opportunities that instead of connecting as a family, we are shuffling these boxes from place to place and figuring out where to put it. Thank you Joshua. It isn’t too late for anyone to become a minimalist and I share everything that I am learning with her. My children will not experience the same in my garage during my senior years!
aurelie says
When my dad passed away I had to refuse his legacy (a long story about not well intentioned associated). It was a very difficult decision to make, to separate the legal legacy from my dad’s legacy to me.
I was very lucky to have a smart and kind notary. She understood perfectly my struggles and enabled me to put my finger on these mixed feelings.
Of course there is now a paper that says that I refused his legacy. But I am his daughter and thanks to his legacy I could find the strength to make this decision.
I cannot count the number of time I have ahah moments like “oh this is what dad meant” or “oh I get it now”. And this is so much more than a piece of paper.
Thank you for this kind article, and a big hug to all of the readers that have lost a dear one <3
Judy says
My mom taught me that Jesus was everything…
I lost her at an early age— but always had God to trust in, to help me through.
I call that the ultimate legacy.
Steveark says
The best inheritance is in memories of loving but firm parents that taught you to be a good adult. However if you have not saved and invested well to the point that you have something to hand down or even worse if you become a drain on your children’s finances at the very time they are trying to get their kids through college then I wonder what kind of memories they will have. My memories are of great parents who also left a sizable estate to me and my brother. I believe my three kids will have very similar memories of us.
Sukmun says
Thank you for your article. It had a huge impact on me given that we lost our dad this week. He got sick suddenly 2 and a half weeks ago and now he is gone. Your article was like a sunray of hope amidst a sea of grief. My dad was great man, and one of those pillar people where you may not notice them when they are there, but you will certainly notice them when they are gone. He left us an incredible legacy by his example and character. Next week at his funeral, I will get up and quote Peter Strople with gratitude of all my dad gave us. Thank you.
Adele Gross says
Beautiful article and beautiful words: leave something in people. I love that.
I think a few really important issues can be added. If you leave a mess (a house full of stuff, a storage unit full of stuff) for your family to go through then you leave them with a ton of decisions to make and a lot of stress. Also, if the person has not prepared and set up a Vital Records file and sent it to their Executor they can be left with a huge headache of researching accounts and possibly missing out on Insurance policies and stocks.
Judy says
My parents passed away when I was just a young child. One of my first memories was prayer. My mom would pray with me and talk to me about God. We had a picture on the wall of Jesus and she would walk me over to it and she always gave Christ a Polish name. (I will not even attempt to spell it ) lol. — So I told a Polish person I know this story… and said that the first word I remember learning was Jesus (in Polish). My Polish friend said NO. That word is not Jesus… it means “Everything”.
My legacy. I am the lucky one :)
Fátima Minimalista says
Beautiful story
Tamra Fricke says
That is beautiful ♥️
You were very blessed, even though they were gone too soon.
You’ll be together again, someday! ?
Lori says
The “Becoming Minimalist” author, site, has changed my life! I love all I have been learning and I love all the articles and I love the emails. Thank you! What a blessing to me and so many others!
As to the article concerning inheritance, I never knew what the word truly meant. I’m 51 and
thought I knew what inheritance meant! It means more than I thought I knew.
AGS says
This caused me to think about how many folks will die leaving their children with their debts. Acquiring wealth is, in itself, a kind of value that you pass on. Similarly, acquiring debt, and not dealing with it during your lifetime, also communicates a value to your surviving loved ones. Thinking of acquiring wealth/debt/possessions/experiences/etc in terms of how you want to communicate that as a value to the next generation is another layer.
Thank you for this thoughtful piece
Zina says
Such an encouraging article! And so True!