The role of your trusted advisor is not solely to manage assets, but rather to help align all resources with your family’s values and translate sophisticated strategies into something far more meaningful: a lasting legacy.
Families often assume wealth deteriorates through dramatic failures like a bad investment, a mistimed business expansion, or an unexpected crisis.
In reality, long-term wealth is curated by the quieter moments of discipline: small, ordinary decisions made consistently over time. How often a portfolio is rebalanced, when gains or losses are recognized, and following a disciplined process versus reacting emotionally all play into the longevity of financial wealth.
December has a way of slowing us down just enough to reflect on what truly matters. It is not only about endless holiday gatherings, vacations, and other year-end activities. As the year draws to a close, the weight and privilege of wealth prompt deeper questions, such as:
What will this money really mean? What legacy are we building? How do we shape the future we care about?
As markets shift and generational changes loom, many families use December not simply to preserve wealth, but to review and reset the intended way wealth passes forward. When coordinated properly, trust structures can work individually or collaboratively to strengthen both financial and family continuity.
Allows for the sale of appreciating assets or business interests while freezing their value for estate tax purposes, letting future growth accumulate for heirs.
Captures today’s values and shifts tomorrow’s appreciation to beneficiaries with minimal gift-tax impact.
Moves significant wealth out of a taxable estate while still preserving flexibility, security, and indirect access for a couple, if needed.
Embed philanthropy directly into the family’s architecture, honoring values while strengthening the legacy of long-term wealth.
These tools can be effective because they offer tax savings as well as optionality, providing families with choices to respond to changes in tax law, family structure, and generational dynamics without locking into rigid paths.
For many families, particularly those who have built generational businesses or hold concentrated wealth, defining a philanthropic identity becomes a way to provide meaning for a legacy.
While November is full of thanks, December is consistently the strongest giving month of the year. Recent studies show nonprofits receive around 30% of their annual donations in December, and roughly 10% in just the final three days of the year¹.
Tax benefits, end-of-year reflection, and generosity combine to act as a financial and emotional anchor for the season. But for many affluent families, the drive goes deeper. Identity is built through action, and action becomes legacy.
Philanthropy evolves from a side activity to a family’s identity.
This identity, driven by philanthropy, requires intention to last. Familial values can be lost on future generations without proper inclusion.
A recent study by Bank of America notes that “nearly half of affluent couples make charitable decisions together, but only 13% involve their children or grandchildren².” Without intentional inclusion now, the next generation may know wealth, but they will not know the values that built it.
We believe giving is a priority, not an afterthought. Creating “giving plans” aligned with values, involving younger generations in decision-making, and weaving philanthropy into the long-term family narrative is paramount to a sustainable legacy.
For many families, how they give matters almost as much as where they give. Rather than making last-minute decisions under time pressure, flexible structures allow families time to be strategic and thoughtful.
Fund before year-end for immediate tax benefits while selecting grantee(s) later when there is time for reflection, aligning intent across generations.
A long-term platform for philanthropy that encourages deep family involvement, hands-on engagement, and multigenerational governance.
These structures buy time, let families avoid rushed, emotionally-driven giving, and they allow philanthropy to follow strategy, not impulse.
We believe combining technical skills with empathy, discretion, and genuine human connection is the most effective way to ensure a healthy client-advisor relationship.
We strive to anticipate clients’ needs before they are articulated, and we use intimate conversations and family dialogues (often multigenerational) to shape giving strategies that resonate across generations.
It is our duty to translate complex legal and tax constructs into values-based, emotionally meaningful stories about legacy, identity, and impact. Our emphasis is on optionality, not complexity.
A plan that works now also leaves room to pivot as values, family structure, or the external world changes. We strive to not just manage money, but nurture purpose and preserve the values that give wealth its meaning.
Wealth is more than numbers. It is not just about what you control today, but what you entrust for tomorrow. Wealth may build a future, but values preserve it. The families who navigate this season most gracefully are those who pause long enough to ask:
What do we want our wealth to become? What do we want to build with it?
If these questions feel timely – or even unfinished – the conversation is ready to begin. Your legacy deserves clarity, intention, and a partner committed to carrying it forward. We are here to guide you through each step with precision, discretion, and purpose. Connect with us here.
LGT Financial Advisors does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.
Sources: