Legacy Planning
At its core, legacy planning comes down to three simple steps: build your wealth, live long enough to enjoy it, and pass on what remains efficiently. We treat this like a major project—because it is. Our first priority is a resilient foundation: capturing your full financial picture, verifying ownership, and confirming that all beneficiary designations are accurate and coordinated with your overall plan.
Too often, though, people overlook the importance of legacy planning in the early years while raising a family—precisely when having plans in place matters most. That’s why we serve a wide range of clients: savers in their accumulation years, pre-retirees preparing for the next stage, and retirees who want clarity, coordination, and, above all, family harmony.
The Three‑Step Framework
Build
Grow and protect wealth during accumulation and pre‑retirement years.
Enjoy
Create a structured retirement income plan designed to support your lifestyle with tax‑aware withdrawals and risk controls.
Transfer
Pass remaining wealth efficiently and according to your wishes—minimizing friction, avoiding unnecessary delays, and maintaining family harmony.
Why a Strong Foundation Matters
A clear plan saves stress, time, and money. Start with the basics, verify the details, and line everything up with your goals.
Comprehensive inventory of accounts, policies, real property, and business interests.
Title/ownership review (individual, joint, trust, entity) to align with your goals.
Beneficiary confirmation—primary/contingent, per stirpes where appropriate, and TOD/POD where available.
Coordination with your wealth accumulation or retirement income plan to reflect cash‑flow needs, taxes, healthcare, and long‑term care considerations.
Our Project‑Oriented Process
- Discovery & Goals: Clarify priorities, heirs, charitable intent, and family dynamics.
- Data Capture & Verification: Gather statements and documents; verify titles and all beneficiary designations; surface gaps or conflicts.
- Plan Design: Build a resilient accumulation or retirement income plan; stress‑test for market volatility, longevity, inflation, healthcare, and tax law changes.
- Coordination & Implementation: Prepare a concise 1–2 page summary that your attorney—or ours—can translate into the most suitable legal instruments.
- Ongoing Reviews: Update after life events, new accounts, law changes, or family updates to keep everything aligned.
What You Receive
- One‑ or two‑page Legacy Summary for your attorney review (or ours) and determine the appropriate legal documents necessary.
- Beneficiary & Ownership Checklist for each account/policy.
- Coordinated action items (retitling, TOD/POD forms, trust funding guidance).
- Optional family meeting facilitation to communicate decisions and expectations.
Preserving Family Harmony
Clarity prevents conflict, especially when it comes to legacy planning. We help families identify and document fiduciary roles such as executors, trustees, and agents under power of attorney. We also encourage open communication—sometimes through a family meeting we can facilitate—and provide a non-binding Letter of Intent to explain the “why” behind key decisions. Even digital assets, from passwords to subscription accounts, can be addressed with clear instructions (though we don’t store credentials).
Common Tools & Documents
Your attorney will guide you through the right legal documents, but most plans include a will or pour-over will, a revocable living trust with proper funding steps, and powers of attorney for both financial and healthcare decisions. Advance healthcare directives, HIPAA authorizations, and carefully updated beneficiary designations all add protection. Depending on your situation, you may also use transfer-on-death deeds, life or long-term care insurance, or charitable tools such as donor-advised funds, charitable trusts, or qualified charitable distributions.
Beneficiary & Ownership Checklist
It’s important to review how your assets are owned and who is designated to receive them. Retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs should have beneficiaries current and coordinated with your overall plan. Bank and brokerage accounts need correct titling and, where appropriate, TOD or POD designations. Life insurance and annuities should reflect the right owner, insured, and beneficiary structure. Real property and business interests must be aligned with your legacy plan, and don’t forget to document access instructions for digital assets and other valuables.