Inheritance: a patrimony left by a deceased person and transmitted by way of succession. Some events which took place in 1997 have made me look at the word inheritance in a totally different light. Is the word inheritance a dirty word? After all, it means receiving an asset that we have done nothing to deserve, at least directly, other than being related to the person who disappeared and left us the assets they owned. In fact, the heirs receive what was most precious to the person, except those things the person decided to make disappear.

Is inheriting indecent? Not too long ago, I would have answered yes. But now...

A statement made by Cardinal Turcotte after the sad event of the bus crash last summer at Les Éboulements completely changed my point of view. It gave the whole thing a different dimension. That simple thing the Cardinal said affected one of the most fundamental values in my life. Life and death. All he said, in a very spontaneous way, was: «It is very sad to see those you love disappear; but isn't life a relay race? The person who dies touches our hand and tells us to keep on going, to go further...»

This brief statement has had a profound effect on me: it has changed my vision of what an inheritance is. This neverending process is even more important when one has to decide what to do with it.

LIGHT

Life as a relay race; 21 millions for continuity.

Shouldn't an inheritance then be a form of life after death? Whether the inheritance is physical or moral, we should see in it a light which will shine brighter or dimmer depending on how we look at it.

Receiving an inheritance creates a fundamental practical problem. Money, assets that fall from the sky, one would say. Sure. But the person who leaves the inheritance, be it big or small, has also left a will stating his or her last wishes. «Last wishes». Words that should make us sigh. Everything else is secondary. Over their lifetime, some will have accumulated money in varying amounts. They may have made sacrifices to leave behind their most precious possessions.

Others will have lived without sacrificing, spending relatively modest amounts on life insurance and leaving a large inheritance. In those cases, the heir will have the satisfaction of knowing that the deceased enjoyed life while not neglecting continuity. How do you see your patrimony? In other words, how do you see life after your death? Gianni Versace, the famous fashion designer who died on July 15, 1997, had a life insurance policy worth 21 millions. Versace was covered under what is called key person insurance. This type of insurance protects a company from the turmoil created by the disappearance of an employee who plays a key role in its survival. In other words, an inheritance for continuity. That alone is reason enough to seek an opinion from a financial planner as to the pertinence of such a policy.

VISION

We're facing twenty-five years of prosperity, freedom and a better environment fot the whole world.

You got a problem with that?

Quite an inheritance, those great years that are described in full detail by «Wired» magazine in its July issue, which quotes «History of the future: 1980-2020», by Peter Schwartz and Peter Leyden. The possibilities are explored without veering into crystal ball predictions, with in-depth observation and common sense. On the Web, visit Wired   plus U and you will be able to evaluate the various scenarios.

Which brings us to a difficult question: all these changes will not take place without upheavals. Which is the best course to reach a safe harbour? The most important factor remains financial security. So we must defer to the father of the diversified portfolio, Harry M. Markowitz, recipient of the 1990 Nobel Prize for Economics. In the current economic picture, diversification is your best bet. Even though mutual funds offer good diversification, the advice of an investment and financial planning expert can greatly assist you in reaching your objective.