Estate Strategies
The future is now.
Design Your Legacy
Estate Planning for Multigenerational Wealth
Estate planning is really about you—now. Its function: To connect your past to your future, so the rewards of hard work and good fortune support what you care most about in life and beyond.
The higher your net worth and the broader your estate, the more you will benefit from estate planning that is (1) truly comprehensive and (2) aligned with what you want to accomplish for yourself, family and community.
At LNW, we partner with you to create, implement, and keep up-to-date an estate plan that turns your aspirations into reality.
Centered on you and yours
We start with what motivates you, how you view the world, and what you value most.
Consulting with you, we delve into the details: Contingency planning (what happens if you become ill or incapacitated); estate tax planning at the federal and state level; input on key appointments such as executor, trustee, guardian for minor children; titling verification; advice on trust strategies and trust terms.
Then we help you see how all this fits together. We diagram an optimized estate plan for you and your family, so you can see asset flows and ownership vehicles evolve over time to accomplish what you intend.
Your big picture will come into view, including:
- YOUR TOTAL BALANCE SHEET – A complete view of your assets and liabilities, risk exposure, potential new opportunities, and even the skills, capabilities and interests (the “human capital”) within your family.
- TIMING – Which of your assets would transfer to whom, when, and via which mechanism/ vehicle — during or after your lifetime, when beneficiaries reach a certain age, after a life milestone, or as needed.
- STRUCTURE – All the necessary legal documentation, including for a will, one or more trusts, perhaps an endowment, appointment of trustee(s), executor, guardian for minor children, power of attorney, etc.
Throughout the planning stage and beyond, we work closely with your outside advisors – attorney(s), CPA(s), business partners, etc. — to make sure legal documents align with your asset base and intent. Our goal: leave no loose ends that can turn into future stumbling blocks, creating family tension or wasting time and resources.
Your estate plan in action
In LNW, you have a partner that can carry out your wishes with objectivity and expertise in a multitude of ways: as executor of your estate, trustee, power of attorney, to confirm titling on assets and accounts, to manage the assets within trust(s), and to update all of this as your life evolves and laws and regulations change.
The end result: You know that your wealth will transfer smoothly—when you choose—using the most effective mechanisms, including trusts, a foundation or endowment. The right estate plan can also maximize what the people and causes you love receive from you after taxes. Ultimately, your estate plan can create a legacy that stays relevant over many generations.
Keeping your legacy up-to-date
LNW experts on tax planning assess the potential impact of new laws and regulations on your estate plan, investments and any trusts we manage for you. When change presents timely opportunities, we will alert and advise you. We will also continue working with your attorney(s) and CPA(s) to integrate new possibilities for multi-generational wealth transfer into your estate plan.
We are here to help secure your whole future now.
Estate Planning Q&A
The Q&A below gives a general idea of how we can help. Ultimately, your estate strategy should reflect who you are and what you want to accomplish in life and beyond. Let us show you how.
Let’s delve into your specific questions.
Still have questions?
Probably. Especially for multigenerational wealth, a will and joint ownership are usually not the most effective ways to transfer assets. We can explore with you what a comprehensive estate plan looks like, including the use of trusts. Along with peace of mind, a full scope plan can increase control over your assets, privacy, tax-efficiency and include a contingency plan should you need it.
For peace of mind, you must have confidence in your estate plan even as laws and your family situation change. That is why we routinely assess how our clients’ plans are working and what might be missing. We can consult with you and your attorney/CPA to put in place an estate plan whose every component aligns with the others to achieve what you want in terms of tax savings, privacy, control, expediency, contingency planning and creating an enduring legacy.
We can help you evaluate whether a foundation or endowment is in fact the right vehicle for what you want to accomplish, based on our decades of experience advising nonprofits. Once established, we can manage the assets committed to your foundation/endowment to maximize longevity in line with the mission.
Since 1967, LNW has been helping families with significant wealth preserve and grow their assets over many generations. As part of a comprehensive estate plan, we can advise you on the type of trust(s) that would work best for your situation, and whether you should consider the creation of a family foundation or endowment. We can then manage your trust and/or foundation to have positive impacts far into your family’s and community’s future.
What questions do YOU have?
Send us a message at hello@lnwadvisors.com
