Estate planning is about more than documents. It is about ensuring that the wealth you have built over a lifetime reaches the people and causes you care about — efficiently, privately, and according to your wishes. We coordinate your estate plan with your financial plan so nothing falls through the cracks.
What We Cover
Our role is not to draft legal documents — that is your attorney's job. Our role is to ensure your financial plan and estate plan work together seamlessly:
- Beneficiary designation review — We audit all retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and transfer-on-death registrations annually to ensure they reflect your current wishes
- Trust funding coordination — If you have a revocable living trust, we ensure all appropriate accounts are titled correctly and that new assets are funded into the trust
- Gifting strategies — Annual exclusion gifts, 529 plan superfunding, and lifetime gift tax exemption planning to transfer wealth tax-efficiently during your lifetime
- Charitable legacy planning — Charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and private foundation analysis for clients with significant charitable goals
- Incapacity planning — Ensuring your financial accounts have proper powers of attorney, successor trustees, and healthcare directives in place
Working with Your Estate Attorney
We maintain relationships with several excellent estate planning attorneys in the Chicago area and are happy to provide referrals. For clients who already have an attorney, we coordinate directly to ensure that changes to your financial plan are reflected in your estate documents, and vice versa.
The SECURE Act and Inherited IRAs
The SECURE Act fundamentally changed inherited IRA rules, eliminating the stretch IRA for most non-spouse beneficiaries and requiring full distribution within 10 years. This has significant tax implications for your heirs. We model the impact on your specific beneficiaries and develop strategies — including Roth conversions and life insurance — to mitigate the tax burden on the next generation.
