Creating a wealth-building legacy. (Publisher's Page).

As we approach the season of giving, one of the most important gifts we can give to our families is planning for the transfer of wealth and preparing our children to leverage it toward greater prosperity for generations to come. Now is an excellent time to establish or renew our commitment to wealth building as part of our legacy. I want to draw your attention to DOFE principals No. 6 and No. 10: to teach business and financial principles to my children, and to ensure that my wealth is passed on to future generations.

While many Americans are born into families with assets to build upon (real estate, stocks, bonds, etc.), too many African Americans dig themselves out of a hole left by a generation that failed to make financial literacy and wealth preservation a priority. Too few of us have taken the necessary steps to ensure that whatever wealth we have accumulated--great or small--is passed on to future generations. While there are many examples of multigenerational wealth among white Americans--the Rockefellers, the Fords, the Kennedys, the Morgans--the same is not true among black Americans, including the wealthiest among us.

While this reality has been our inheritance, we must be determined not to let it become our legacy. As a first step, join the tens of thousands of BLACK ENTERPRISE readers who have committed to the Black Wealth Initiative by ordering our free Wealth Building Kit (call 877-WEALTHY). If you have already ordered the kit, the holiday season is a great time to recommit your household to the DOFE principles, perhaps, as part of your New Year's resolutions or Kwanzaa observance.

Next, get to work on your estate plan--now. That means, at minimum, putting together a will and establishing power of attorney. Vow to get started on Jan. 2, have it wrapped up by Independence Day, and declare victory in the name of financial freedom. (For help and resources, see "Developing Your Life Plan," July 2002.) If you've already established an estate plan, now is the time to review and update it. The goal is to ensure that your assets will be passed on to your chosen heirs and protected from creditors, administrative costs, and estate taxes.

Finally, we must do all that we can to teach our children not to squander, but rather make the most of, their inheritance. We at Earl G. Graves Ltd. and BE will continue to provide you with information and resources, such as our Teenpreneur youth publication and feature stories (such as our piece on finance camps for teens in this issue), to help you boost the business savvy and financial literacy of our young people.

Collectively, we are in a position to pass on more wealth to our progeny than any generation of African Americans before. Proverbs 13:22 (King James Version) reminds us that: "A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just." We have a moral obligation to establish a worthy legacy of wealth and wisdom for future generations. Let's put this priceless gift near the top of our shopping lists this holiday season.

We wish you and yours a joyous Christmas and a happy, blessed New Year.