Succession Planning done by experts

Individual succession planning prepares for the future management and transfer of your personal finances, assets, responsibilities, and financial decision-making authority. It helps establish who will handle these matters if you become incapacitated or pass away.

Estate planning generally focuses on the legal documents and instructions used to manage and distribute an estate. Succession planning takes a broader look at how your financial responsibilities, records, accounts, assets, and decision-making processes will transition. The two should work together.

No. Anyone with financial accounts, property, dependents, debts, or ongoing responsibilities can benefit from succession planning. Even a relatively simple plan can save family members significant time, expense, and confusion.

A CPA helps evaluate the financial and tax components of the plan. This may include organizing assets, identifying tax concerns, reviewing account ownership, evaluating beneficiary strategies, preparing projections, and coordinating with your attorney and financial advisor.

The appropriate person should be trustworthy, financially responsible, organized, and willing to serve. Your attorney can help establish the necessary legal authority, while your CPA can help you determine what financial information and ongoing responsibilities that person will need to manage.

Yes. Retirement accounts often represent a significant portion of an individual’s wealth and generally transfer according to beneficiary designations. The tax treatment and distribution rules can vary depending on the beneficiary, so these accounts should be coordinated carefully with the rest of your plan.

Review the plan periodically and after major changes such as marriage, divorce, a birth, a death in the family, retirement, a significant inheritance, a property purchase, or a change in your financial position. Account ownership and beneficiary designations should also be reviewed regularly.

Potentially. The tax outcome depends on the assets involved, how they are owned, when they are transferred, and who receives them. Advance planning may help reduce avoidable income, capital gains, gift, estate, or trust tax consequences.

They may need recent tax returns, bank and investment statements, retirement account information, insurance policies, property records, loan documents, trust information, recurring bills, and contact information for your professional advisors. These records should be stored securely but remain accessible to the appropriate person.

Yes. We can coordinate with your attorney, financial advisor, trustee, and other professionals to help ensure the legal, financial, and tax components of your succession plan are aligned.