Retirement & Estate Planning

Retirement Planning. Retirement can begin at any age, and so can planning for it — the earlier, the better. Assets for retirement can include savings, investment accounts, IRAs, employee retirement plans and pensions, even home equity (accessed through a reverse mortgage), and annuities and life insurance policies. One way or another, the focus is usually on maximizing growth, minimizing taxes and managing exposure to risks (e.g., market risks, legal liability). This office can guide you.

Estate Planning. Estate planning strives to effect the transfer of assets from an individual to others (beneficiaries) in a manner that is tax-efficient and implements the individual’s values and wishes. The transfer of assets may occur during the individual’s life and/or after his death. Methods commonly include wills, family LLCs and limited partnerships, and trusts. With individual lifetime exemptions for gift and estate tax and generation-skipping transfer tax set at $12+ million through calendar year 2025 (or until the U.S. Congress decides otherwise), some of the tax-related aspects of estate planning have become somewhat simplified for all except the very wealthy.

Yet, many different factors should be considered when forming a plan. They include total value of assets, the type of assets (e.g., family business, family home(s), real estate, stocks and bonds, collectibles), beneficiaries’ ages and their capacity to manage their own financial affairs, and of course, YOUR family values and YOUR personal wishes about how assets should be used.

Asset protection measures should be included in every estate plan and in every family business plan. The specters of divorce, personal-liability court judgments and a spendthrift beneficiary hang over all accumulated wealth. By minimizing or eliminating such risks, the integrated estate planning of this law practice protects and builds wealth.

Estate planning is more than simply buying a Will or Living Trust. For example, a substantial portion of an individual’s or couple’s wealth is often held in beneficiary-designated accounts, such as, IRAs, 401(k) plans, and insurance policies. By itself, a Will will not control the disposition of such assets. Estate planning, therefore, involves assessing what you have, setting goals, considering the many techniques and investment vehicles available to achieve your goals, and then working with advisors to put plans into action.

Exemplary retirement and estate planning tools include:

Wills

General Durable Power of Attorney

Medical Power of Attorney

Trusts

IRAs

Employee plans, e.g., 401(k), 403(b)

Investment accounts (managed to control risk while providing growth)

Insurance and annuity policies (to control risk and provide security and peace-of-mind)

Long term care (LTC) & disability policies or riders

Life settlement contracts (i.e., sale of life insurance policy)

Reverse mortgages (to tap into the equity of your home)

Medicaid trusts (to preserve assets for spouse and family members)

Estate-Planning-in-14-Steps