Your kids will not read your trust except one page. In this episode, I'm going to address what
is an ethical will or family values and vision document? This is important because your children
probably won't read your trust except one page that says, how much they get?
So, I'm Doug Andrew and I've been helping many many thousands of people now for north of 48
years optimize their financial assets and minimize taxes. But many many thousands of people have come
to me even though I'm not an attorney, I do teach attorneys how to set up equal opportunity trusts
and how to establish what I call family banks. And many times, a lot of
these attorneys need continuing education and so I do advance continuing education
for tax attorneys and CPAs. But I'm not an attorney and I don't want to profess to be but
do you want me to be honest or gentle? Most attorneys and CPAs within two years of graduating
just sort of buy into follow the herd mentality as it relates to estate planning and so I'm
going to be honest in this video and show you what happens when most attorneys set up trust
and why you want to not do it the traditional way but sort of do it a different way even
though it's going to require a little bit more effort on the part of your attorney to do this.
So, throughout this episode, I'm going to talk about how to abolish entitlement mindsets
not set yourself up for failure with your kids and grandkids under a normal equal distribution
trust and why your kids can then read and reread or watch and re-watch listen and re-listen
to an ethical will. Because they will not read your trust that's legal ease except one page this
is how much they get and I'm going to give you an example or some examples of value and vision
documents. So, most trusts are set up with equal distribution rules of governance. Meaning, when an
attorney meets with you generally once they find out your net worth, the first question they ask is
how many kids have you got? What are they going to start doing? Dividing up your assets in the trust.
In fact, a lot of trustworthiness boilerplate documents and once they find out you have four
children they just go, what's your four kids names and they plug those names into the trust.
They put your assets in the trust and then when you die both of you it's like chunk chunk chunk is
divided up into four parts and dumped in their laps. Unfortunately, it ruins about half of the
heirs or kids in this country and they get an entitlement mentality. "Oh, when do I get my share?",
as if they deserve it, they're entitled to it. So, a lot of people come to me to abolish that entitlement
mindset because they feel like their kids are hovering around like vultures waiting for them to
die so they can get their share, their piece of the pie. So, that's why I wrote a book called
Entitlement Abolition and I'm going to gift you a copy of this book at the end of this episode
and you'll be blown away when you read and study this. That's called an equal distribution trust
and I often teach and there's nothing more unequal than the equal distribution to unequals and people
think, "What? What are you talking about?", and I explain it usually this way. Our creator does not
give equal distribution of blessings let's say of health to all of us regardless of how some of us
including myself may choose to abuse our bodies at times, okay. Our creator doesn't give equal health
to the person who abuses their body, takes harmful substances, and sits around and does an exercise,
and the other person does. I'm going to give you the same health as them. No, our
creator gives us equal opportunities not equal distribution. When people begin to understand this
I recommend they change their trust or if they haven't set one up that they redesign it to be
based upon rules of governance based on equal opportunities. You give the equal opportunities
to all your kids and grandkids and they have to have skin in the game. They don't just you know get
a bunch of money dumped in their lap. They have the ability to be responsible and accountable and if
they get good grades they get a scholarship maybe the family bank matches. Because this is all under
what I call a family bank. So, you can match it or they can borrow money at a low-interest rate and
they pay it back. If they can't pay it back with money they pay it back by mowing lawns, painting,
shampooing carpets or whatever. But they will learn that it's not just a handout. You're there to give
them a hand up not a handout. You will empower them. You want to give them equal opportunities
while they're alive and then when you die they're not shocked, "What? I got disinherited".
No, they never expected it because you never led them to believe that they would just deserve
a piece of what you built, okay. Now, whenever I've talked about this to most people they go,
I want an equal opportunity trust not equal distribution. Well, unfortunately, most people have
equal distribution trust so they have to change it and it's easy to amend. Sometimes it's just
having some documents an ethical will. So, let me give you a few examples of this as we go through.
As I mentioned, your kids won't read the trust except the one page that says, how much they get?
Well, they will read your values and vision statement or your ethical will. So, in the book
I want to gift you at the end of this episode you'll see how to capture what's in here and what's in
here and that's more important than leaving behind a bunch of cash money by capturing the knowledge,
attitude, skills, and habits, and that spells an acronym knowledge is K, attitude says A, skills
it S and the habits is H, that's K-A-S-H. That KASH is more important than leaving behind the C-A-S-H.
Now you're leaving behind how to fish instead of dumping a bunch of fish in their lap, okay. And so,
when you do it the right way you can capture and leave behind something they will read and
re-read watch and re-watch, listen and re-listen, for generations because they won't read your
trust. Before I explain what this is. If this is resonating with you please subscribe, it's free.
Just click subscribe and be sure and click that little bell so you'll be notified every
time I post a new episode which I do almost on a daily basis. I don't want you to miss out.
On this channel, this is about you and your brighter future and if you like something click like or
post a comment or share with somebody who you think would benefit from watching this episode.
Stay with me to the end because I want to gift you a copy of my book Entitlement Abolition.
You don't have to pay 20 bucks for it on Amazon. I will gift it to you free. Many times I've helped people
capture what's in here and in here by having memory jogging questions. I have
another episode on this channel that talks about you sit down with your mother, your father, your
grandpa, grandma, or you do it yourself and you can push record on your smartphone and
you can do the video and you read the question and you give the answer to the question off the cuff.
When were you born? What was your first job and when did you learn the value of hard work and why
did you fall in love with your spouse and what are the most important life lessons you learned
by working hard and on and on and on? I have a lot of very powerful questions that end up going
deeper deeper deeper as the person gets used to it and in 90 minutes, I have helped people capture a
life sketch that their posterity will watch and re-watch for generations. They're not going to
read your trust. Are you getting it? One of the most powerful documents that my book teaches
you to do is what some people call an ethical will. That's way different than a normal will.
This is what you believe in. What you stand for. What your beliefs are. Your heritage.
Your beliefs. Your values. Your vision and so, that's called an ethical will. Sometimes I call it a
values and vision document and so when I give you a copy of this book you'll be able to sort of see
some examples of this. I'll just give you a little taste right now of what we have done in our own
family. You don't have to have all of these. But see, the Andrew family values and vision statement has
three different dimensions because there are three dimensions of authentic wealth. The foundational,
intellectual and financial, and so I have 12 bullet points under each and this is attached
to our trust. Our kids have this right now and they know what we stand for as far as our heritage,
our values, our beliefs, our faith, and relationships. They know the wisdom and the knowledge, attitude,
skills and habits. They know that we're not just gonna dump a bunch of money in their lap and what
we want them to do to never run out of money by using the right financial strategies and so
that's called a values and vision document. I have 12 bullet points and you can read these
when you go in and explore my book and download our values and vision statement. We have mottos
like together we're better or together everyone achieves more. You don't have to have all these but
we have you know our sort of slogan. We believe in being honest truth chased and benevolent
in motion and contributing value in the world. We meet challenges with faith deadlines with
hope and exercise charity toward all. If there is anything virtuous lovely or of good reported
praiseworthy we seek after these things, okay. How about our family creed? We strive for clarity which
blesses us with perpetual energy balance in the three dimensions of authentic wealth which takes
the wobble out of our lives and increases the velocity in which we achieve our family values
and vision. Focus on what matters most which increases the accuracy in achieving our goals
and confidence which attracts opportunities instead of repelling opportunities and we
recognize and seize those opportunities. We choose to be responsible and accountable for our actions.
Now, you don't have to have a creed. We have all of them but you'll be able to read examples. Here's
our family manifesto. There are 12 things in our family manifesto that colleges and universities do
not effectively teach our kids and grandkids. This is what we teach our children and grandchildren
on family vacations with a purpose and this is our family manifesto. Critical thinking, how to be
responsible and accountable? How to set goals? How to be active listeners and effective communicators?
How to consciously train your mind and body to unconsciously act in harmony with your family
values and vision so that you'll be able to say no to drugs or alcohol in the moment because you go,
"Why would I do that? That would bugger up my whole vision of a brighter future?", you wouldn't believe
how many kids don't have that vision in their head? Our family laws of lifetime growth. I took these
from Dan Sullivan. We strive to make our future bigger than our past. We make our learning greater
than the experience. We make our contributions bigger than our rewards. We make our performance
greater than the applause. We make sure our gratitude is greater than our success. We strive
to make our enjoyment greater than our effort. We make our cooperation greater than our status.
We make our confidence greater than our comfort. We make our purpose greater than
the money. We always make our questions bigger than the answers. Now, that's just a taste. So,
these are the types of things we want to leave behind to our posterity and they will read and
reread and recite and watch those and capture the memories and the experiences good and bad
for generations. That's an ethical will or a values and vision statement. When you leave behind your
beliefs and what you have in here and in here they will cherish that they will not read your trust.
Does that make sense? So, if you want to learn how to do this I would love for you to get
a copy complimentary of my book Entitlement Abolition. Here's how you can claim your free copy.
You simply go to entitlementabolitionbook.com click on the link below. Contribute a nominal
amount towards the shipping and handling. I'll cover the rest of that cost
and you have to have skin in the game then you'll appreciate it and you'll study it.
But I will pay for the book and then there's options there to listen and learn or watch and
learn. There's even an 18-hour master class if this wakes you up and you want to implement.
You can invest in the 18-hour master class which is a big deep dive into implementing all of these ideas
there's 12 chapters in this book. But this is about you, your loved ones, and their brighter future.