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Estate Planning

Will this money still be here for my grandchildren?

An estate plan decides who receives what, when, and at what tax cost. Without one, those answers are supplied by state law, the probate court, and whoever happens to be named on a decades-old beneficiary form. Working alongside your attorney, we map the whole structure in Wealth.com so you can see it rather than just file it.

If you wish to leave behind a meaningful legacy, be it for loved ones or a charitable institution, you need a well-thought-out estate plan in place. Without an established plan, the fate of your estate could be determined by the government, lawyers, or people who don’t have your interests and best wishes in mind.

Having an estate plan is paramount in ensuring your estate is handled according to your wishes. Together with your estate planning attorney, we can assist in drafting documents and reviewing your situation so your estate benefits the people and charities you care about most.

We map the estate — Wealth.com is where you see it

An estate plan is usually experienced as a folder. You signed documents once, they went somewhere safe, and nobody has looked at them since. The problem with a folder is that it cannot tell you the one thing you need to know, which is what would actually happen tomorrow.

So we map the whole structure in Wealth.com — every account, how it is titled, who is named on it, and where each asset actually lands. Seeing it laid out is what surfaces the gaps. Most of an estate never passes through the will at all, beneficiary designations quietly override it, and those designations are frequently a decade stale. A term policy still naming a former spouse is not an unusual finding.

Your documents are held there too, so the plan and the paperwork sit in one place. Drafting remains your attorney’s work and we would not have it any other way — but making sure the documents and the accounts actually agree with each other is ours.

What we can do for you

  1. Will education

    We help you understand how to structure your will so your legal team can create a document that reflects how you want your estate distributed — from a simple will to a testamentary, joint, or living will.

  2. Creating powers of attorney

    Whether it is to manage specific assets or to let someone make health care decisions if you are ill or incapacitated, a POA ensures your wishes are followed.

  3. Choosing executors

    Executors wield real power over how your estate is handled. We help you understand what criteria matter when appointing one — especially where minor children or guardians are involved.

  4. Designating beneficiaries

    Chosen carelessly, beneficiary designations can send assets to people you never intended to benefit. They also override your will, which surprises most people.

  5. Minimizing estate taxes and probate fees

    Taxes, fees, and other levies can erode a large part of an estate before beneficiaries see anything. Careful planning reduces that drag.

  6. Estate protection

    Long-term investments and property often need protection and management after you’re gone, until proceeds are distributed.

  7. Distributing your legacy

    We help synchronize your estate plan and your will so assets are distributed in line with your final wishes.

What this covers

  • Partnership with estate attorneys
  • Trust Account Management
  • Wealth Transfer Strategies
  • Multi-generational Strategies

What the estate work looks like

Where things actually go, not where you assume they go.

We map your estate structure in Wealth.com, and your documents are held there. The value is being able to see the whole thing at once — because the gap between what the documents say and what the accounts will actually do is where estates go wrong.

  • How your estate actually passes

    48%
    34%
    18%
    • By beneficiary designation
    • By your will, through probate
    • By joint titling

    Most of an estate never touches the will. Here 48% passes by beneficiary designation and 18% by how the account is titled — so the will governs the remaining 34%. People are routinely surprised by which bucket their largest asset sits in.

  • Every account, and who is named on it

    • 401(k)SpouseCurrent
    • Rollover IRANamed in 2009Review
    • Roth IRANobody namedAct
    • Taxable brokerageTransfer on deathCurrent
    • Term life policyFormer spouseAct

    Beneficiary designations override your will, and they are frequently a decade stale. Three of the five accounts here need attention, including a term policy still naming a former spouse. This is the single most common defect we find, and it takes an afternoon to correct.

  • What arrives, after what it costs to get there

    • Estate value
    • Lost in transfer

    The estate is not what heirs receive. Probate and settlement take a slice, and inherited retirement accounts carry income tax that lands on the beneficiary — under the ten-year rule, often in their highest-earning decade. Planning changes the second bar more than the first.

  • Which documents exist, and which do not

    • WillOn file
    • Financial power of attorneyOn file
    • Healthcare directiveMissing
    • Revocable living trustOn file
    • Guardianship nominationMissing
    • Letter of intentMissing

    Seeing the gaps laid out is the point. A missing healthcare directive is not something anyone notices in a filing cabinet, and a guardianship nomination only exists if somebody drafted it. Drafting is your attorney’s work; keeping track of what is missing is ours.

The figures above are illustrations of the views Wealth.com produces, drawn with sample numbers. They are not a projection, a recommendation, or a representation of any client’s results, and they do not reproduce Wealth.com’s software. Your own Wealth.com views are built from your accounts and your assumptions.

Estate Planning

Questions we get asked

  • Estate planning decides who raises your children, who makes decisions if you cannot, and who receives what. Those questions apply at every asset level. Without documents, the state answers them using a default schedule written for the average case rather than for your family.

Who this usually matters most for

The rest of the picture