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Estate Planning
Sadly many Americans die without a will in place. Caught up in the joy of life, it is difficult to sit down and think about what will happen to your assets when you die. It is a critical part of your plan to make sure that loved ones are taken care of and not left with a mess and potentially costly mistakes.
In this assessment process, some of the areas we evaluate together include:
Establish & Review Documents
We will help you understand what legal documents and strategies are available like wills, POAs, trusts, and buy sell agreements to protect your personal and business interests in estate planning. We will help you plan and review your documents to ensure that your estate plan is lined up with your wishes.
Review Beneficiary Designations
We will help you make sure that your retirement accounts and life insurance beneficiaries are lined up with both tax efficiency and any special provisions for dependent minors. As life progresses, we’ll want to review your beneficiaries to make sure they are accounting for all of the changes in life from marriage, births, deaths, and divorce.
Optimize Asset Titling
We will help you understand the pros and cons of titling assets in individual, joint, trust, or business entities. Our goal is to determine if any retitling is needed and make sure that legal documents aren’t just created, but that trusts or businesses are actually funded with the appropriate assets.
Other Estate Concerns
We want to help address other concerns like end of life wishes, protection of heirs & children, and developing roles and responsibilities of executors and trustees. Finally, assess any non-charitable gifting that is intended and how distribution will flow at death for control and taxation.
Our Approach To Estate Planning
John Longstaff, CFP®, shares his perspective and 35 years of experience on what matters most in the estate planning process.
Request more info >Our Client-Centric Approach
Fundamentals
We may think we’re too busy living to stop and set up an estate plan, but everyone should consider having wills, health care directives, and powers of attorney in place. This critical step is just the first you should take to ensure your loved ones are taken care of should something happen to you.
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Accumulation
As your assets begin to grow, it is important to review the beneficiaries on your retirement accounts and life insurance annually, and to optimize beneficiary designations for tax efficiency. It may also be a good time to consider the pros and cons of setting up revocable living trusts.
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Management
Estate Planning becomes much more complex when there is a closely-held business, a blended family, or a taxable estate involved. Learning the types of trusts and insurance that can help you achieve your goals is an invaluable process.
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