August is National Make-A-Will Month, and the slower pace of late summer can offer a welcome opportunity to pause, reflect, and make sure the plans that matter most are in place. Reviewing your estate documents can help protect your family, ensure your wishes are honored, and bring greater clarity to the future.
Download the Legacy Planning PDF Checklist
But estate planning can be about more than what we leave behind. It can also be an opportunity to consider what we want to pass down: the values that shaped us, the causes we care about, and the kind of community we hope to help build for generations to come.
These considerations matter more than ever in the Great Wealth Transfer. This much-anticipated era, happening right now, is reportedly the time when trillions of dollars will pass from one generation to the next over the coming decades in various forms, ranging from cash and stock to real estate and business interests.
Of course, families are focused on the practical details: Who will inherit the family business? What will happen to the investment portfolio? How should the estate plan be structured? Those questions matter. But at the Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF), we also see this moment as an opportunity for families to think beyond the transfer of assets and plan with purpose, building a legacy that provides for loved ones while carrying forward the causes, values, and communities that have shaped their lives.
A recent Kiplinger article exploring the Great Wealth Transfer makes the point that the strongest family legacies are built not simply by transferring assets, but by intentionally passing along values of generosity through shared charitable experiences and conversations. It encourages families to involve younger generations in philanthropy early, turning giving into a collaborative, multigenerational experience rather than a one-time financial transaction. This is an approach we see firsthand at OCCF, where families can engage multiple generations in giving.
For many people, philanthropy is one of the values they want to carry forward. A charitable legacy can turn that value into something future generations can see, experience, and continue. If that resonates with you, OCCF can help you connect the practical work of estate planning with the charitable impact you want to make, now and for generations to come whether in Orange County, across the country or around the world. As you consider your own legacy, here are a few things to keep in mind:
A charitable legacy isn’t simply about the gifts that are made after you’re gone.
It’s also about helping your children and grandchildren understand why giving has been important throughout your life. At OCCF, we encourage families to integrate philanthropy into those conversations today. In many ways, the discussions, traditions, and shared decisions surrounding philanthropy can become just as meaningful as the financial inheritance itself.
If you’ve not begun mapping out your legacy, Make-A-Will Month offers an opportunity to put your values into action.
As you revisit your estate plan, consider not only what you want to leave behind, but what you want your resources to make possible for your family and community.
Legacy Giving is Growing.
According to the latest Giving USA report, charitable bequests, also called Legacy Giving or Planned Giving, totaled more than $62 billion in 2025, increasing nearly 20% over the previous year. Bequests were the fastest-growing source of charitable giving, underscoring how important estate gifts have become to nonprofit organizations and the communities they serve.
A charitable bequest can be surprisingly simple.
You might leave a specific dollar amount or a percentage of your estate to your donor-advised fund at OCCF, or designate another type of charitable fund at the community foundation, to continue supporting the organizations and community priorities that matter most to you.
Turn your values into a lasting legacy.
By naming your children or other loved ones as successor advisors of your donor-advised fund at OCCF, you’re inviting them to continue the family’s tradition of generosity by recommending grants to the organizations and causes they believe will make a difference. In this way, a charitable fund can become a vehicle for passing down your values and a meaningful inheritance in its own right.
Planning can preserve more.
For individuals and couples with especially large estates, charitable planning also may reduce the federal estate tax ultimately borne by the estate, helping preserve more of the remaining assets for heirs. This consideration applies to relatively few families because the federal estate tax exemption is $15 million per individual in 2026, but when it does apply, its impact is significant because gifts and bequests to qualified charities generally are deductible in determining the taxable estate. Your attorney, CPA, and financial advisor can help determine whether estate tax planning is relevant to your particular circumstances.
Your giving can support both family and community.
Even when estate taxes are not a concern, a charitable bequest can still become one of the most meaningful gifts you make. You may, of course, provide for family members while also supporting the causes and organizations that have mattered throughout your life.
Estate plans are designed to transfer wealth. A charitable legacy has the power to transfer something even more lasting—values, gratitude, and a commitment to the communities that have shaped your life. OCCF can work alongside you and your attorney, CPA, and/or financial advisor to structure charitable bequests, establish a donor-advised or other charitable fund, and ensure your charitable plan reflects both the people you love and the impact you want to leave. Ultimately, the most meaningful legacy may be more than what we leave behind. It’s what we inspire others to carry forward. Philanthropy can help bridge those generations, and at OCCF, we’re honored to help families turn their values and generosity into lasting impact on the causes closest to their hearts.
