Too often, when families think about legacy, the conversation begins with wealth: investments, businesses, property, trusts, and financial planning. Of course, those matters are of primary importance to you and your family, yet some of the most valuable assets a family possesses will never be found on a balance sheet.
This was one of the key themes explored in a recent YouTube conversation in which Josh Kanter, founder and CEO of leafplanner, hosted Roy Moëd and Yvette Conn, co-founders of LifeBook Memoirs, the world’s leading private memoir specialists.
leafplanner—styled without capitals, a small signal of its ambition to make a complicated subject feel less so—was created to help families manage the complexity of financial succession and decision-making. As Mr. Kanter explained, wealthy families are left without an “owner’s manual” for managing the people and relationships that surround their financial assets. Working in partnership, Leaf Planner helps families capture the “what”, while LifeBook Memoirs focuses on preserving the “why.”
Capturing the emotional legacy
In the YouTube recording, Roy and Yvette describe their work as “protecting a family’s emotional assets.”
They explain that they employ a full team of project managers, interviewers, ghostwriters, and editors to produce personalized memoirs and family histories that preserve not just the subject’s facts and achievements, but the experiences and values that shape a family’s story.
As Yvette notes, too many younger family members see only the outcome of a successful business or significant wealth. What they often miss are the setbacks, risks, failures, and hard choices that shaped the journey. A memoir ensures that these future generations can understand how wealth was created and the sacrifices made.
Your story matters
An example shared during the discussion involved a business founder whose children were unaware of the risks he had taken when starting his company. They were astounded to learn of how he quit his job and borrowed a significant amount of money to launch his business while simultaneously helping to raise a young family.
Those stories provide valuable context because understanding how and why previous generations made their decisions can help future generations develop confidence in their own decision-making. Instead of seeing their grandfather or father as larger-than-life figures who never made mistakes, they can experience the uncertainty and resilience required to build that success.
In many cases, these stories can encourage future generations to take more informed risks, make difficult choices, and chart their own path by understanding how their forefathers did just that.
Books preserve your family history
Roy and Yvette explained that their books, of which there are, at present, more than 1,000 (and rising), invite readers to engage with stories at their own pace. They can return to specific chapters and meaningful moments to discover new insights over time.
More importantly, these books transcend generations. Produced on archival-quality materials, LifeBook Memoirs’ products are designed to last for centuries. That makes them permanent family reference points to connect descendants with their heritage.
Start now!
Perhaps the most important message highlighted by the conversation was don’t wait too long to get started. Too often, people find themselves saying, “I wish we had done this sooner.”
These stories are not simply an exercise in nostalgia. They are an investment in the generations to come. Financial assets create opportunities, but these stories provide meaning. Together, they form a lasting legacy.
For further details about LifeBook Memoirs, click here.
For further details about leafplanner, click here.
Written by Stephen Pitts, LifeBook Memoirs editor
