Welcome to what could very well be the world’s first (and maybe only) blog about what I call “The Human Element of Estate Planning”.

That’s right … Estate Planning for Humans.

Estate Planning without the boring technical stuff.  But with the stuff that you and I really care about.

Like how the future will be for us and our families. 

How we can build successful lives and make sure that we hand the benefits of that success  on to our children and grandchildren. 

How you and I can live well and leave a legacy of success for generations to come.

My name’s Richard Austin, and I want to help you get an understanding and appreciation of how The Human Element of Estate Planning can help you and your family.  That’s what “Make Success Your Legacy” is all about. 

Why’s it taken so long for Estate Planning to emerge from the shadow of it’s sexier cousin, Financial Planning?  I don’t know for sure, but let’s have a look at a few possible reasons: 

• Not many people know what Estate Planning is.  Don’t worry, we’ll change that.
• Of those few who do know what it is, most don’t really understand it.  That’s ok, I can fix that too.
• Most of those who know what Estate Planning is, and also understand it, don’t think they need to worry about it.  Big mistake!
• And finally, of all those few people in all the world who know what Estate Planning is, have some sort of understanding about what it involves, and know that they really do need to worry about it, probably half are too scared to do anything because it means they’ll have to think about dying.  Huge mistake! 

OK, here are the main things I want you to understand up front about “Make Success Your Legacy” …  

• Even though Estate Planning can be a pretty dry sort of topic, I promise you’ll never be bored with what you read here.

• I’ll never bang on and on about wills, powers of attorney, trusts and tax … although I might have to mention them in passing very occasionally.
• There’s a good chance that at some stage I’ll offend either you, your lawyer or your financial advisor.  In fact, one of the main reasons for starting “Make Success Your Legacy” was to upset as many people as possible, particularly those professional advisors who want you to believe that there’s some sort of magic about Estate Planning and that they’re the only magicians in town.  Thankfully, not all advisors are like that, and I’ll help you track down the ideal ones to suit you and your family.
• Although I’ll be focusing on Estate Planning, I’ll also be getting into all sorts of other stuff that goes into living a successful life.  Because the more successful you are, the more you’ll have to pass on when you’re gone.  Right?   
• I really do want to help you with this stuff, but I can only do that if you let me know what you want and need.  So I’m relying on you to post comments and point me in the right direction.

Fair enough?  Great, I’m looking forward to us getting to know each other soon. 

Warmly 

Richard 

P.S.  You can get some other great Estate Planning education resources over at my main site Estate Planning In The Raw.  Check it out when you get a chance.