This is the aspect of your wealth that addresses the tangible, material benefits that your assets provide to you and your family. It is measured essentially with financial statements, profits and loss reports, bank account and investment summaries and tax returns. This is the level where virtually all traditional estate planning both begins and ends. It is simply a matter of running the numbers.
Very few people fully understand the extremely dynamic social aspect of their wealth.
Our government has designed most tax laws to offer you a distinct choice: You can either contribute to the general welfare of our society through involuntary philanthropy (taxation) or one can, if you prefer, direct these funds to the social programs you choose through voluntary philanthropy (giving).
The taxes involuntarily extracted from you produce very little measurable benefit to our country, due, first, to massive government waste and, second, due to the sheer size of our country’s financial need. Voluntary giving, on the other hand, produces a dramatic, measurable benefit to our country in very specific ways and these contributions generally are extremely cost-efficient.
Given the choice, would you choose giving assets to the government or your personal endeavors?