Advanced Estate Planning
While estate planning is important for people of all levels of wealth, it is particularly important for families with high-value estates. Not only do wealthy families have more to lose without proper planning, they benefit greatly by having a plan in place.
Some advantages of advanced estate planning include:
- Protecting assets from loss, which could be the result of divorce, unprotected inheritance, health issues, creditor claims, taxes, lawsuits or other disasters;
- Maintaining the standard of living to which you are accustomed;
- Reducing income, estate, excise and generation-skipping transfer taxes;
- Protecting your beneficiaries’ inheritance if they are not yet old enough or mature enough to make the best financial decisions on their own;
- Protecting your beneficiaries’ inheritance if they marry, divorce or are vulnerable to the influence of others;
- Protecting children from a prior marriage and separate property assets in the event of new marriage; and
- Leaving the legacy you desire.
We assist you in determining the appropriate level of asset protection planning for your particular circumstances. We will consider the following tools:
- Insurance
- Pre-marital or marital agreements
- Asset segregation
- Choice of jurisdiction
- Gifting
- Entity formation
- Gift programs
- Tax planning
- Trusts, including irrevocable trusts, dynasty trusts, charitable trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs), standalone retirement trusts (SRTs), special needs trusts and trusts for minors
There are many different strategies to accomplish the protection of your assets while you are alive and after you are gone. To find out which strategies may be right for you, contact us for more information. Or, if you are ready to get started, click here.
