Beyond Inheritance: The Gift of Experiences
When we think about the legacy we want to leave behind, it’s not always about financial inheritance or material wealth. For many, it’s about creating lasting memories, imparting values, and sharing meaningful experiences that will be remembered for generations. Chartered clients Trevor and Rina White chose a different path when considering their legacy. Instead of focusing solely on financial inheritance for their grandchildren, they wanted to create something more personal, something that would resonate with their family for years to come. Here, they share their heartwarming journey of crafting a living legacy through shared experiences.
“While discussing our estate planning, as guided by Chartered Wealth, my wife and I decided that our financial inheritance planning would be limited to our children, allowing them to decide what would accrue to their children (our grandchildren). From the birth of our two grandchildren, one now eleven and the other eight years old, we, as grandparents, have been involved in their early childhood development. We’ve taken them to and from school, sponsored and accompanied our granddaughter to piano lessons, and our grandson to jiu-jitsu lessons.
We decided that instead of leaving them money, we would find a ‘lasting experience’ that we could share with them as a family – something our grandchildren would hopefully always remember us for, as their Oumi and Oupi!
We considered a long list of possibilities, such as pleasure cruises, skiing trips, Mauritius, the Kruger Park, or even a visit to Disney World, just to mention a few. However, none of these really ticked all the boxes. We wanted to be together as a family, actively involved, while also considering the costs and ensuring the experience was fun-filled for everyone.
Having done a barge trip on the French canals nearly a quarter of a century ago, my wife and I felt that this could be exactly what we were looking for. It combined transport and accommodation in one, with the grandchildren being old enough to act as crew members when entering and exiting the many locks along the way. They helped the lock-keepers with opening and closing the manually operated locks and cycled into the towns and villages to buy fresh provisions such as bread and milk. As a health-conscious family, the grandkids cycled alongside while one of us jogged on the traffic-free cycle routes, which run parallel to all the canals, keeping up with the boat as it made its way along the waterways.
The trip turned out to be everything we had hoped for and more. The weather was perfect, everything went according to plan, and we worked together like a well-oiled machine. The grandchildren were involved from start to finish; they were never bored and seemed to love every minute. We, as grandparents, truly believe we have given them an unforgettable experience that they will carry with them into the future. And the best part? We were able to share it with them!”