Estate & Wealth Transfer Planning
Estate and Wealth Transfer planning is primarily about protecting and preserving your “estate” (i.e. your assets) during your lifetime in the event of illness or injury in addition to distributing your money after your death.
A proper drafted estate plan primarily protects you and your spouse as the numerous estate planning documents form the foundation of your wealth management.
Every dollar you have is impacted in some significant way by these documents and it’s therefore important for your wealth advisor to understand every detail of your estate & wealth transfer planning.
Not only is your estate & wealth transfer planning crucial in the event of a disability while you are alive, but it is critical to properly deliver your assets to whom you want, when you want and in what manner you prefer.
We provide advice on issues including trust design, property ownership & titling, distribution strategies, estate tax reduction and tax payment techniques. Proper planning can also help minimize future estate settlement costs and to help provide a comfortable living for your surviving family. Transfer taxes can significantly shrink the size of your estate by claiming roughly half of everything you own.[1] We also identify potential liquidity and estate equalization issues and provide you with your options to solve these problems.
[1] For 2020 the individual estate and gift tax exemption is $11,580,000. However, you cannot depend upon the current estate and gift tax exemption amounts remaining in place forever as they are set to expire on January 1, 2026.
