Insights

Key Takeaways Sustaining wealth over generations requires intentional planning; it’s not likely to succeed if left to chance. With purposeful planning, communication, and actions, future generations can gain a sense of stewardship and gratitude for their inherited wealth. Three strategies can help families foster an ecosystem where generational wealth is understood as both a great advantage and a responsibility. Overview For many families, wealth can create prosperity, opportunity, and success. However, the advantages wealth can bring may also create trepidation
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Irrevocable trusts have become an integral part of estate planning, providing individuals with a reliable means of managing, protecting, and distributing assets. These trusts and the laws that govern them have undergone significant evolution over the years, transforming the landscape of estate planning and asset management. One notable innovation is the emergence of directed irrevocable trusts with separate trustee and investment advisor responsibilities. Unlike traditional irrevocable trusts where the trustee and investment advisor are the same entity, this new approach
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Key Takeaways A power of attorney is a foundational estate planning document that empowers a trusted person to make decisions about property, health care, and finances for another person. Powers of attorney are often created to prepare for a period of incapacitation or disability, or when the person creating the power of attorney is unable to be present to sign legal documents. Powers of attorney can bring peace of mind to families, because they can help ensure that one’s wishes
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Key Takeaways As net worth grows, so can estate planning complexity for high-net worth individuals and families. This complexity can lead to common myths and misconceptions, which can cause costly delays, higher taxes, and in some cases, family strife. Identifying misconceptions early and taking appropriate actions to adjust an estate plan can help provide peace of mind and a sustainable legacy. Overview Revocable, portability, grantor, trustee, per capita, non-designated eligible beneficiary, GST, GRAT, IDGT, ILIT, and more. These are just
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Certain planning situations like when a client is scheduled to receive substantial sums of wealth ($5M-$15M+) call for advanced planning techniques. Our client may feel a need to transition from wealth creation to wealth preservation. These scenarios include a large inheritance, liquidation scenarios such as a company sale, either a personal company or a corporate sale when the client holds a sizeable amount of company stock, and/or simply the payment of a large bonus. Advanced planning techniques include the consideration
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Along with warmer weather and lazy days spent at a pool, summertime also often includes a family gathering, such as a Fourth of July barbecue, a family vacation, a reunion, or time spent at a family cabin or lake house. Whatever the form, in our always-on-the-go society, getting the whole family together is a rare occurrence. Consider taking advantage of this time together to discuss your estate and financial wishes with your family by including a family meeting in your
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We are all familiar with the benefits estate planning can provide. By clearly defining how we want our loved ones taken care of after we pass, wills and trusts help ensure a safe and secure transfer of assets and avoid probate issues. Yet, an often-overlooked part of estate planning is defining how our heirs should manage our digital assets after we pass or become incapacitated. Families must consider what happens to their loved one’s email accounts, airline and hotel points,
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Whether it happens sooner (perhaps as early as next year) or later (but likely no later than 2026), there’s a good chance we’re going to see a significant drop in the federal estate tax exemption amount. And while there’s some uncertainty around exactly when it will happen, one thing that is certain is that if/when it does, substantially more Americans will be subject to this tax. Such potential changes on the horizon mean that one of the best ways to
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In the simplest situations, after your death, you leave your money outright to your spouse if he or she is living. Then, when your spouse passes, they leave the remaining money to your children. This assumes a straightforward family scenario, perhaps with only one marriage involved. Ideally, everyone is experienced with money management, has happy and stable relationships themselves, and there are no major personal issues to worry about. The ideal and uncomplicated situation is rarely the real family dynamic.
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When you hire an estate planning attorney, you are often looking for help with preparing your accounts and property to ultimately pass smoothly and safely to your loved ones. This is a key component of estate planning. An experienced estate planning attorney will put much thought and effort into ensuring that an appropriate estate plan is created using a variety of legal documents including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives. These important tools can ensure that what
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