Estate Planning

For some people, financial planning is mainly concerned with how best to go about building a nest egg, and how to make it last through your elder years. But for many, there is a desire to ensure their estate delivers benefits beyond their own lifetime and produces a lasting legacy even after they have passed.

If you wish to leave behind a lasting legacy, whether it’s for family and loved ones or a charitable institution, then you need to put a well-thought-out Estate Plan in place, so your legacy is established in accordance with your wishes. Without such a plan, strangers (the State, lawyers or individuals that don’t have your interests in mind) could determine what happens to your estate.

Even with the best planning, it is unlikely that your money will last exactly as long as you need. there will always be at least a bit left when you die. If you wish to ensure that you are in control of what happens to your estate, and if you want to guarantee that your estate is handled in accordance with your directives, then having an Estate Plan is paramount.

 

Our estate planning services include:

  • Helping you understand the importance of a will: Your will should be the corner stone of your Estate Plan. We can help you understand why and how you should structure this document so your legal team can create a will that reflects how you want your estate disposed. Additionally, because life often gets in the way, we can help to keep your estate plan up to date and in good order to make estate settlement smoother for your survivors and beneficiaries. Don’t have their last memories of you be those of angst, aggravation, and frustration.

  • Choosing Executors: The Executors of your estate wield strong powers that determine how your estate is finally dealt with upon your passing. We’ll help you understand the importance of choosing an executor(s) for your estate, and what criteria you should consider when appointing someone to discharge this all-important role – especially if minor children/guardians are involved.

  • Designating beneficiaries: If you don’t choose beneficiaries for your assets carefully (or not at all), your estate assets might well end up in the hands of individuals that you never intended should benefit from them. We can help with retirement accounts as well as non-retirement accounts. We also may make some suggestions for real estate holdings you may have.

  • Considerations for dependents’ needs: A well- thought-out Estate Plan will ensure that all of the needs of your dependents (be they minors, adult children, siblings, persons with special needs or aging parents) are taken care of in accordance with your desires.

  • Tax planning considerations (minimizing estate taxes and reducing probate fees): Without a well-thought-out Estate Plan, a considerable part of your estate could erode through taxes, fees, and other levy’s, even before your designated beneficiaries see a cent!

  • Protecting your estate: Though you might no longer be here, many of your assets – like your long-term investments, property, and other tangible assets – will likely need care, protection and management until they are finally disposed of, and the proceeds distributed to your designated beneficiaries. In the absence of an Estate Plan, your assets will likely not receive the type and level of protection those assets require.

  • Health and welfare considerations: A comprehensive Estate Plan contains several components, including directives to your Executors and Power Of Attorney holders about what to do in case your health (mental or physical) deteriorates. In the absence of those components in your Estate Plan, decisions impacting your health and welfare might be made by others (likely medical professionals or state-appointed representatives) whom you do not trust. We can also assist with your financial qualification for, and selection of, a lifetime care residential community whereby you would make all your care decisions in advance of the need for care.

  • Distributing your assets/legacy: Without a proper estate planning, your assets might not be distributed in line with your final wishes. And because creating legally binding wills and ensuring the Estate Plan are in sync with the will is essential to ensure proper distribution of your estate, our professionals can support you in this endeavor. We will also safely retitle and transfer assets we manage for you to your designated beneficiaries.

  • Charitable Giving: you may wish to begin your charitable giving during your lifetime and continue after you pass. A well thought out plan for giving that minimized taxes and maximizes your gifts are benefits for both you and your charities. We have options for giving and can tailor recommendations to best suit your objectives.