According to the Snapple Fact I found under the cap of my peach iced tea yesterday, it took Leonardo da Vinci 12 years to paint the lips of Mona Lisa. Of course, Snapple Facts occasionally require further research. For instance, if, as many historians believe, da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa between 1503 and 1506, how could he have taken 12 years to paint the lips? I dug a little deeper and concluded that, while it didn’t take him 12 years to paint her lips, it did take him at least that long to finish tweaking them until he handed the painting over to his patron, Francois I, sometime after 1514. It’s an admirable approach to crafting a legacy and one we can all apply to our own efforts. The Da Vinci Code for legacy planning – build, study,  tweak —  works. The first step is to build your masterpiece and, for this, like Da Vinci, you’ll need to work with a mentor. Choose your estate planner carefully. He or she needs to be both well-versed in tax laws and effective planning techniques, and well-connected to equally skilled attorneys. This phase requires the most effort. You have to analyze your assets and the manner in which you’d like to pass them on. You should communicate your goals to both your advisor and your family. Think hard about the legacy you’d like to leave, and then work to achieve it. Once you’ve built your legacy plan, you should take a step back and study it. Does it address the opportunities and obstacles you foresee? Will it withstand economic and familial pressure? Most importantly, does it accurately reflect you? Properly constructed, a legacy plan lasts forever. However, it may still be important to tweak it every now and then. Tax laws and family situations change. Charitable goals can shift as well. Check in with your advisor for periodic reviews. Remember, a will… | Read More »