OPERATIONS

When it’ s time to update your estate plan

By Anthony Nasca, Financial Advisor, CEPA and Brad Stanek, Financial Advisor, CFP

But if you think your current plan is up to date, you might want to think again. We often find that the estate plans business owners have in place are outdated. That’ s potentially a big problem because:

Continual changes in tax laws mean that older estate plans may not take full advantage of current opportunities to transfer assets optimally. These changes could also mean some aspects of an older estate plan are no longer effective.

Changes in your wealth status mean your estate plan may no longer accurately reflect your financial situation.

Changes in your personal and family situation may make your estate plan ineffective in accomplishing what you actually want it to do.

The upshot: Stay on top of your plan and revise it when appropriate – especially when events occur that could potentially affect your wealth. We believe strong estate plans involve two key components: technical expertise and the human element.

Technical expertise

Exceptional estate planning requires exceptional technical expertise about estate planning laws, rules and strategies( some of which can be very complex). The tools and techniques of exceptional estate planning can range from the basic to the cutting edge. From the technical side, some estate planning strategies and tools you might consider are:

Trusts In many ways, trusts are often cornerstone solutions for many successful individuals and families. A trust is a means of transferring property using a third party( the trust). Specifically, a trust lets you transfer title of your assets to trustees for the benefit of the people you want to take care of, also known as your designated beneficiaries. The trustee will carry out your wishes on behalf of your beneficiaries.

Partnerships As with trusts, there are many types of partnerships. They can determine how the partners of a business address ownership issues, and they have varying tax benefits. For example, within the business world, disharmony among family members or unrelated business partners can mean a higher tax bill if the owners are forced to divide assets among the partnership’ s members. Through the use of sophisticated partnership structures, business owners can divide their companies and, possibly, reduce taxes.

The human element The true goal of exceptional estate planning is to transfer your wealth in accordance with your wishes. The role of an estate is to make it possible for you to achieve your desired agenda and to be as tax efficient as possible in pursuit of that agenda. That’ s where the human element comes into play. While technical expertise is absolutely required, it is the human element, understanding your agenda on a deeper level and then designing a plan around that agenda, that distinguishes exceptional estate planning from merely good estate planning.

That’ s because today, most estate planning legal strategies and financial products are commonly accessible. So, a big difference among estate plans and planners is the ability to put the pieces together so you get the results you’ re seeking.

Clearly then, the estate planner you work with should have a deep understanding of you, your situation, values, goals and concerns. Without that knowledge, the tools themselves( as good as they may be, technically) might not get you what you want because they’ re not appropriate for the job you want done.

24 OPE + May 2025 www. OPE-Plus. com