Preserve Your Legacy with Confidence

A financial advisor works with you to understand your estate planning goals. This includes identifying who you want to benefit from your estate, how much you want to leave, and any specific instructions you have for handling your assets after your death.

Advisors help prioritize objectives, such as ensuring that your spouse is financially secure, providing for children or grandchildren, or leaving a charitable legacy.

Comprehensive asset review: 

A financial advisor helps create a detailed inventory of all your assets, including retirement accounts, investments, real estate, business interests, and personal property. They ensure that these assets are well-organized and positioned for efficient transfer to your heirs.

Consolidating accounts: 

They may also help consolidate and streamline accounts, which simplifies the estate planning process and reduces complications for your beneficiaries.

Collaboration with estate attorneys: 

Financial advisors work alongside estate planning attorneys to ensure that legal documents (like wills, trusts, and powers of attorney) are properly aligned with your financial strategy.

Tax professionals: 

They collaborate with tax advisors to minimize estate and inheritance taxes, and structure your assets in a way that reduces the overall tax burden on your estate and heirs.

Reviewing and updating beneficiaries:

Financial advisors ensure that your retirement accounts (401(k), IRA), life insurance policies, and other beneficiary-designated assets have up-to-date beneficiary information that reflects your current wishes.

Avoiding probate: 

They advise on how to structure accounts (such as setting up Transfer on Death (TOD) or Payable on Death (POD) designations) to help bypass probate and ensure assets are transferred smoothly.

Trust creation: 

Financial advisors can identify situations where establishing a living trust or irrevocable trust is beneficial, whether for avoiding probate, reducing estate taxes, or providing for dependents.

Charitable giving: 

Advisors can also suggest charitable trusts or other giving strategies if leaving a legacy to a charity is important to you. This can provide both a tax benefit and fulfill your philanthropic goals.

Special needs trusts: 

If you have a dependent with special needs, your financial advisor can help set up a trust to ensure they are taken care of without jeopardizing government benefits.

Tax-efficient strategies: 

Advisors suggest tax-efficient strategies like gifting, Roth conversions, or creating irrevocable trusts to reduce the size of your taxable estate. These strategies can help you pass on more of your wealth to your heirs and avoid estate or gift taxes.

Step-up in basis: 

They explain how the step-up in basis works for passing on assets (like real estate or stocks) and help you strategically position assets so that your heirs can benefit from reduced capital gains taxes.

Managing required minimum distributions (RMDs): 

If you’re subject to RMDs from tax-deferred accounts like traditional IRAs and 401(k)s, a financial advisor will ensure you withdraw the right amounts to avoid hefty penalties, while also considering the tax implications of these withdrawals for your estate.

Roth conversions: 

Advisors may recommend Roth IRA conversions to reduce future taxable income from RMDs, making it easier for your heirs to inherit assets without the burden of income taxes.

Selecting the right individuals: 

A financial advisor can help you select trustworthy individuals to serve as executors of your will or trustees of your trust. They may also serve as a neutral party to offer professional guidance to those handling your estate.

Supporting executors and trustees: 

Advisors assist your executors or trustees by guiding them through the process of managing and distributing assets after your death. This ensures they understand the steps involved and follow your wishes efficiently.

Long-term care strategies: 

Financial advisors help retirees plan for potential long-term care needs, which could otherwise drain their estate. They can recommend insurance products or asset protection strategies to cover these costs without impacting your estate.

Medicaid spend-down planning:

If you may rely on Medicaid for long-term care, advisors can work with estate attorneys to legally structure your assets to help qualify for Medicaid while preserving a portion of your estate for heirs.

Planned giving strategies: 

Financial advisors help retirees set up donor-advised funds, charitable remainder trusts (CRTs), or other structures that allow you to support charitable causes while receiving tax benefits and ensuring your estate is distributed according to your values.

Legacy wealth transfer: 

They assist in planning for multi-generational wealth transfer, ensuring that assets are passed down in a structured, tax-efficient manner that aligns with your family’s long-term financial security.

Ongoing adjustments: 

Estate planning is not static, and financial advisors help you regularly review and update your estate plan as your life circumstances, financial situation, or tax laws change.

Adapting to changes: 

Whether you experience a change in marital status, the birth of grandchildren, or significant changes in your assets, your financial advisor ensures that your estate plan evolves with you.

Digital estate planning: 

In today’s world, financial advisors can help ensure your digital assets (online investment accounts, social media, email, etc.) are part of your estate plan. They may advise you to create an inventory and designate someone to manage or delete these assets after your death.