Estates & Trusts Planning Services

Estate Tax Planning 

Estate planning professionals can help you identify and implement strategies to minimize the amount of taxes your heirs will owe on your estate and preserve your wealth for you and your loved ones. This may involve using trusts, gifts, or other techniques to minimize taxation. Services could also include:

• Estate Tax Minimization Strategies: This service involves a tax professional analyzing your estate and recommending strategies to reduce your estate's tax burden. This could include establishing trusts, or restructuring your assets.

• Will and Power of Attorney: An estate planning service can help you draft a legal will that outlines your wishes for asset distribution after your demise. They can also help you create a power of attorney, which designates someone to manage your financial affairs if you become incapacitated.

• Beneficiary Designation Review: This service involves reviewing how your retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and other assets with beneficiary designations are titled. An estate planner can ensure your designations align with your overall estate plan and minimize tax implications.

Business Succession Planning

If you own a business, succession planning is essential to ensure a smooth transition after your demise or retirement. This can help protect your legacy, minimize taxes, and ensure the continued success of your company. Our team can help with services as:

• Tax and Legal Planning: Develop an exit plan and strategies to minimize tax burdens, identify successors, prepare them for ownership, and minimize disruption to the business.

• Estate Freeze Implementation: This strategy involves fixing the value of a business owner's shares at a specific point in time. A lawyer can help you implement an estate freeze through various legal structures, such as special share classes or family trusts. This can minimize estate taxes for future generations inheriting the business.

• Retirement Planning for the Owner: We work with financial advisors to ensure a secure and comfortable financial future for you after stepping down from your leadership role.

Life Insurance Planning

Life insurance can be a valuable tool for estate planning, providing beneficiaries with financial security. The benefits of life insurance include the following: 

• Liquidity for Estate Expenses: Life insurance provides a quick influx of cash to your beneficiaries upon your passing, which can help cover estate expenses like funeral costs, probate fees, and estate taxes. This prevents your loved ones from having to sell valuable assets to cover these costs. 

• Preserving Existing Assets: Estate related expenses and taxes can significantly shrink the value of your estate. Life insurance proceeds are generally income tax-free for beneficiaries, meaning they receive the full benefit, which helps them offset estate tax burdens. This safeguards the assets you've accumulated and ensures a larger inheritance for your beneficiaries.

• Income Replacement: If you have dependents who rely on your income, a life insurance policy can provide them with financial support after you're gone. The death benefit can help cover living expenses, pay off mortgages or debts, and ensure your family maintains financial stability during a difficult time.

Digital Assets

With our increasingly digital world, estate plans need to address digital assets like online accounts, social media profiles, and cryptocurrency. This service might include:

• Inventorying Digital Assets: Identifying all your online accounts and digital holdings.

• Creating Access Instructions: Providing clear instructions on who can access your digital assets after your death.

• Naming Digital Fiduciaries: Appointing someone to manage your digital assets according to your wishes.

Charitable Giving Integration

Many estate plans incorporate charitable giving to reduce tax liability while supporting causes you care about. Our team can help you plan for:

• Charitable Remainder Trusts: Provide income to beneficiaries for a set period, with the remaining assets ultimately going to charity.

• Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs): Allow you to donate assets now and recommend grants to charities later, offering tax benefits and flexibility.

• Life Insurance with Charitable Beneficiaries: Allows you to leave a significant charitable gift while providing for your family's needs.