We usually think “legacy” means wills, trusts, and what people get after we’re gone.
Lawyers, paperwork, awkward conversations about who gets the house… and a lot of avoidance.

But what if legacy isn’t what you leave behind — it’s how you live, how you communicate, and how you prepare your family while you’re still here?

In this powerful episode, Dr. Payal Beri sits down with Lisa McCurdy, estate & legacy attorney, founder of The Wealth Counselor and Defining Legacy Group, who has spent nearly two decades guiding high-net-worth families through generational wealth, family conflict, and the emotional “cancer” of things that are never said out loud.

Lisa McCurdy - Wealth and Legacy

Lisa shares how caring for an elderly uncle with dementia — and being forced into a public guardianship process — completely changed her career and led her to reframe legacy as connection, intention, and celebration, not just legal documents.

Together they explore:

• Why “whatever you’re avoiding will come out” if you don’t address it head-on
  
  
• How unspoken stories, labels, and secrets quietly divide families over time
  
  
• The client who received a surprise $10M inheritance… and felt guilty accepting it
  
  
• Why wealth in families of color is often hard-fought and especially vulnerable
  
  
• How to choose the right people to make financial & medical decisions for you
  
  
• The role of the “anchor” (often a woman) who quietly carries the family’s emotional + logistical load
  
  
• How one family with 11 owners of land + a business used an apprenticeship program to create healthy succession instead of resentment
  
  

If you’ve ever worried that your family might one day explode over money, wills, or “who got what” — or you’re the person everyone expects to handle everything — this conversation will help you see legacy as an act of love, clarity, and emotional generosity, not fear.

Connect with Lisa McCurdy:

• Website – Legacy Makers & resources: lisagmccurdy.com
  Lisa McCurdy - Wealth and Legacy
• LinkedIn: Lisa McCurdy
• Instagram: @lisagmccurdy

Connect with Dr. Payal Beri & Reframing Perspectives:

• Instagram – Dr. Payal: https://www.instagram.com/dr.payalberi
  
  
• Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@payalberi?sub_confirmation=1
  
  
• RK Empathy: https://www.rkempathy.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/payalberi
• Speaking & Media: https://www.payalberi.com

What if your legacy isn’t who you raise, but what you build, give, and live while you’re here?
In this episode, we unpack money, aging, and legacy when you’re childfree by choice—and the guilt, bias, and freedom that come with it.

When people say “legacy”, they almost always mean children.
But what if you don’t want kids—or can’t have them—and you still care deeply about impact, contribution, and who will support you as you age?

In today’s episode of Reframing Perspectives, Dr. Payal Beri sits down with Maddie from Child Free Trust / childfree wealth to talk about what financial planning, aging, and emotional legacy look like when you’re childfree. They unpack the guilt, cultural expectations, and political pressure around choosing not to have kids, and how childfree women can intentionally design both their finances and their future care.

• Why childfree women are statistically among the highest earners—and what that really means for money & freedom
  
  
• The myth that “your children will take care of you” vs. what actually happens in elder care
  
  
• How to think about living legacy vs. after-death legacy (and why dying with millions might mean you over-saved)
  
  
• The emotional layers of being childfree: guilt, judgment, and the constant “who will take care of you?” question
  
  
• Why emotional intelligence, context, and curiosity are crucial when talking to childfree friends & family
  
  
• Practical first steps for childfree folks: building your support team, planning for incapacity, and choosing who makes decisions for you
  
  
• How the childfree community is redefining love, contribution, and legacy beyond parenting
  
  

If you’re childfree, unsure about having kids, or love someone who is, this episode will give you language, clarity, and a lot of relief.

Our Guest: Maddy Roche, Chief Growth Officer

Maddy oversees all marketing, growth, and prospect engagement for Childfree Trust. Maddy was XYPN’s first employee, with roles including VP of Getting Sh!t Done, and hosted XYPN’s podcast, Behind the Advisor. She’s guided thousands of financial planners throughout their entrepreneurial journeys with energy, expertise, and compassion.

https://childfreetrust.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/maddy-roche-25962032/

Connect with Dr. Payal Beri & Reframing Perspectives:

• Instagram – Dr. Payal: https://www.instagram.com/dr.payalberi
  
  
• Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@payalberi?sub_confirmation=1
  
  
• RK Empathy: https://www.rkempathy.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/payalberi
• Speaking & Media: https://www.payalberi.com

“Look at the Indians, look at what they’re doing…”
We’ve all heard some version of this — South Asians framed as the “model minority”: wealthy, high-achieving, and problem-free. But behind the stereotype is a much more complicated reality that deeply affects mental health, identity, and belonging.

In this powerful conversation, Dr. Payal Beri sits down with Dr. Shanta, a psychologist and social impact advocate, to unpack the layers underneath South Asian “success”:

• The pressure to be perfect
• The silence around abuse, depression, and substance use
• Colorism, dating rules, and “no Black, no [insert your own group]”
• White adjacency, colonization, and why so many of us chase proximity to whiteness for safety

They also explore the often-erased stories of Caribbean, African, and working-class South Asians — cab drivers, domestic workers, families living paycheck to paycheck — and how leaving them out of the narrative deepens shame, classism, and disconnection inside our own community.

If you’ve ever felt like you don’t fit the “perfect South Asian family” image, or you’ve struggled to hold your pride in your culture alongside pain, secrecy, or intergenerational trauma — this episode is for you.

🔍 In This Episode, We Talk About:

• What the model minority myth really is and how it harms all communities
• How South Asian “success” is built on selective visibility and class privilege
• Denial around domestic violence, substance use, and mental health in desi families
• Colorism, dating rules, and why “no Black / no [X]” shows up in our homes
• How colonization created a deep craving for white adjacency and external validation
• The erased histories of Caribbean, African, and working-class South Asians
• The illusion of safety in whiteness and the cost of chasing it
• What real solidarity, self-reflection, and collective liberation could look like

This conversation centers South Asians, but the questions apply to every community:
How do we talk honestly about our wounds, privilege, and internalized bias — without losing love for our people?

Connect with Dr. Shanta:
Instagram: @snk_therapy
Website: snktherapy.com

Connect with Dr. Payal Beri & Reframing Perspectives:

• Instagram – Dr. Payal: https://www.instagram.com/dr.payalberi
  
  
• Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@payalberi?sub_confirmation=1
  
  
• RK Empathy: https://www.rkempathy.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/payalberi
• Speaking & Media: https://www.payalberi.com