·
A financial professional with more than 30 years of experience, Veronica Lopez-Lopez has held executive responsibilities as a financial advisor at Citibank, Merrill Lynch, and UBS International. Presently, Veronica Lopez-Lopez serves as executive director and international wealth advisor at Morgan Stanley in Miami, where she advises corporate executives and business owners on financial matters including retirement planning, alternative investing, and legacy planning.
The term legacy planning refers to the organized process of determining how to bequeath one’s wealth. It is a financial strategy that many business owners and high net worth individuals use to control the transfer of property and assets following their death.
Although the term is frequently used interchangeably with estate planning, there are differences. Estate planning deals only with material wealth transfer. Individuals who opt for an estate plan get to control how they pass on their tangible assets and possessions. But the estate plan doesn't make any provision for people to transfer their values and principles to the beneficiaries.
On the other hand, legacy planning includes the transfer of both material wealth and intangible elements such as morals, values, principles, and faith. Many affluent individuals, especially the elderly, worry that their wealth may be mismanaged by financially unwise beneficiaries. As a result, they define certain values and behaviors as relevant criteria for wealth transfer. They express these values and objectives in a family financial philosophy mission statement, while the financial advisor involved ensures compliance with these values.
A financial advisor helps in creating a legacy plan. Legacy planning is pivotal to ensuring financial peace of mind and economic security for the beneficiaries. It helps people prepare for unforeseen circumstances.
