The Legacy Navigator: A Family Legacy Blueprint from a Seasoned Guide
"The Legacy Navigator" emerges from Lance Welch's unique vantage point - both as a father of three sons and a veteran financial advisor who spent decades helping high-net-worth families navigate their legacies. His 30-year career in corporate America, followed by his transition to entrepreneurship and coaching, brings both professional expertise and personal wisdom to this guide for intentional legacy building.
Welch writes from the intersection of professional insight and personal experience. Having helped countless families with their wealth transfer strategies, he noticed that those focusing solely on financial inheritance often saw their wealth dissipate within a few generations. This observation, combined with his own journey of intentionally raising his sons to surpass his own achievements, led to his development of "the legs of the legacy table": vision, values, knowledge, and wealth.
The book reveals Welch's evolution as both a professional advisor and a father. His Sunday evening "Fireside Chats" around a chiminea with his sons and the annual "Family Vision Cast" tradition showcase how he tested and refined his legacy-building approaches within his own family before sharing them with clients. These personal experiments in family connection and value transmission grew from simple beginnings into sophisticated tools for multi-generational impact.
Drawing from his extensive experience with wealthy families, Welch shares sobering statistics: 70% of family wealth disappears by the second generation and 90% by the third. But rather than accepting this "shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations" pattern as inevitable, he offers proven strategies for breaking this cycle, developed through years of observing what works - and what doesn't - in family legacy planning.
As a business coach and speaker, Welch brings a practical, action-oriented approach to legacy building. The book includes detailed exercises, templates, and checklists refined through his work with numerous families. His Core Values Exercise, annual Family Vision Cast template, and Legacy Retreat framework provide concrete tools for implementing his principles.
Today, Welch continues to live out these principles with his own expanding family, including his wife of over 36 years, three grown sons, and grandchildren. His ongoing role as father and grandfather adds authenticity to his message about creating lasting family impact. The book reflects this lived experience, offering insights from someone actively engaged in the journey he describes.
The wisdom Welch shares comes not just from professional expertise but from personally witnessing the power of intentional legacy building. His work with high-net-worth families showed him the technical aspects of wealth preservation, while his own family journey revealed the crucial importance of transmitting values, vision, and knowledge alongside financial assets.
Through "The Legacy Navigator," Welch achieves what few legacy planning guides manage: combining technical expertise with heartfelt wisdom, professional insight with personal experience, and high-level strategy with practical application. The result is a comprehensive guide that speaks to families across the wealth spectrum about creating impact that truly lasts.
As both author and practitioner, Welch continues to help families navigate their legacy journeys through his speaking engagements and coaching practice. "The Legacy Navigator" stands as a testament to his mission of equipping, empowering, and encouraging others to build intentional legacies that will influence generations to come.
