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By organizing and structuring your estate plan, you can avoid confusion, hefty tax implications, and the potential for family disputes,” a Cornerstone Wealth piece points out.
But accomplishing those three goals often involves a team with at least three key members:
- an estate planning attorney
- a CPA
- a financial planner
The CPA
A CPA focuses on the financial side of your estate, using asset valuation and strategies to reduce the tax burden on heirs, optimizing the estate plan’s financial outcomes, BWK Accounting points out.
The financial planner
A financial advisor will have a holistic understanding of your finances, helping you determine what you want to do with your money, and ultimately helping maximize the wealth your family will inherit, Molly Grace writes in the Wall Street Journal, “ensuring your estate plan considers your full financial picture” Financial advisors “act as financial quarterbacks, Powers & Worshtil, in Maryland observe.
In a guest post on the Michael Kitces blog, David Haughton, Senior Corporate Counsel at Wealth.com, makes a very important observation about the estate planning process itself:
“For many clients, the hesitation is more psychological than procedural.Estate planning means confronting death, working through sensitive family dynamics, and making decisions they may not feel ready for. Even clients who are willing to engage may find themselves stalled by the ‘paralysis of analysis’ when faced with the complexity of estate planning. To help move forward, advisors may need to shift the conversation from legal documents to personal values.”
The estate planning lawyer
At Geyer Legal Group, since 1999, we have guided Indiana’s families through estate planning, probate and estate administration. We carefully evaluate your unique situation, discuss your goals and develop a customized plan that secures your hard-earned assets and protects your loved ones’ well-being. Although we do not offer tax advice, instead working in cooperation with our clients’ tax advisors, insurance professionals, and financial planners, we know that each planning tactic must take into consideration the needs of more than one generation.
– by Cara Chittenden, Attorney with Rebecca W. Geyer & Associates
