Wealth Transfer

Philosophy

Our estate planning specialists will evaluate your financial estate with an illustration of potential estate taxes and settlement costs. The initial analysis will highlight the potential savings that might be realized through use of certain trust and estate planning tools. You may want to consult with an estate planning attorney for a more detailed analysis of the options available and for additional evaluation of other techniques that might be of benefit.

We begin the process by determining, with yor input, the answer to some of the basic questions:

  • Are your wills and other estate documents current with the existing legal conditions?
  • Have you recently reviewed your desires regarding final disposition of your remainder estate?
  • Is your estate large enough now or is it anticipated that it will grow to an extent that your exposure to estate taxes could be costly to your heirs?
  • Have you considered the various trust planning techniques available that could help reduce costs and taxes?
  • Could charitable gifting assist in reducing your estate costs and at the same time provide a benefit to others, instead of the IRS?
  • Have you taken advantage of Living Wills and other pre-planning techniques that might help your survivors avoid trauma and indecision at a time when they are already under stress?

A careful review of the information shown above will help you to determine which legal estate planning tools should be considered in order to be fully protected. As you consider the various estate planning tools listed, please recognize that competent legal advice is necessary to assure that the documents are properly prepared.

Any family members who might have a concern regarding any of the estate planning tools that you may consider should be appropriately involved in your estate planning and protection to avoid possible confusion or uncertainty of your wishes when an event requires use of any of the documents.Proper planning and preparation before a need arises can avoid unnecessary delay, confusion, potential legal costs and family disruption.

While estate taxes may not be a serious problem for smaller estates, time, combined with the growth of successful investments or inflation can result in a substantial estate tax liability.

You may want to consider various types of trust or estate planning techniques to help assure that all aspects of your estate disposition are handled according to your wishes and with the minimum estate taxation.

Our analysis of your estate plan is only an estimate and does not constitute legal advice. You should always obtain legal counsel before taking action affecting your estate planning.