Estate Planning

Estate Planning

Estate Planning text, Office desk with computer technology

When you die, what will happen to your assets? Who will inherit them? How much will each person inherit? What will happen if you become incapacitated? Who will make medical and financial decisions for you? Who will take over your personal, financial, and medical affairs?

Estate planning is the process of making sure that these questions are answered to your satisfaction. It is done in order to maximize the wealth that you pass on to your heirs after you die with the minimum inconvenience to them. It is also done in order to make sure that someone you trust will be making health care and financial decisions for you in the event that you become incapacitated.

Most important of all, it is a way to document your wishes so that they will be adhered to upon your death or incapacity. Without an estate plan, estate taxes and probate fees could take a large portion of your estate. A little education and some planning can give you peace of mind and save thousands of dollars for your children and heirs. Our professionals have worked extensively on estate planning matters. Some of the important planning strategies that we regularly utilize include the following:

  • Wealth Replacement Trusts
  • Family Limited Partnerships
  • Business Succession Planning
  • Defective Grantor Trusts (Read our Article)
  • Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts
  • Charitable Gifting Strategies
  • Retirement Plan Distributions

Preserving Family Trust

Today’s complex business and tax environment has made accumulating, preserving and disposing of wealth more difficult than ever before.

Effective financial planning is essential. An estate you consider of modest value today may well become very sizable when measured in inflated market values at the time of your death.

Sound financial and estate planning can help preserve the family wealth that you are working so hard to achieve. It’s important to plan for the disposition of property during your lifetime and upon your death. With effective planning, you can minimize the tax burden on your estate and know that your beneficiaries will receive everything that the law allows.

Click Here for an Article on Family Wealth Planning

Asset Protection

To be effective, it must be properly structured, correctly formed, and established prior to any third-party claims of liability. Properly constructed, asset protection planning will allow you to fully and truthfully disclose all of your assets. After disclosure, your plan should continue to protect your assets and discourage lawsuits.