Estate Planning Near Me: What You Need to Know–PillarWM

For high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, estate planning is a vital yet complex part of your wealth management. It might prompt you to go searching for “estate planning near me” so that you have an expert’s advice guiding you in these critical matters. However, you should keep in mind that not all financial advisors are specialists in estate planning.

Poor estate planning can result in your beneficiaries not receiving the hard-earned money you left for them once you pass. So, to help ultra-high net worth investors find the best “estate planning near me” that suits their needs, we have written The Ultimate Guide. It will give you insights into what you should look for in a good financial advisor.

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As a wealth management firm that caters to investors with 5 million to 500 million dollars in liquid assets, Pillar Wealth Management has extensive experience in helping wealthy clients with their estate planning. Our wealth managers know exactly how estate taxes apply to ultra-high net worth investors. They can analyze which estate tax avoidance strategies can be used for your unique financial situation. If you would like to contact our knowledgeable wealth managers, schedule a meeting with us.

In this article, we will discuss what estate planning is, why wealthy investors need it, and how you can benefit from an estate plan. We will also be answering questions such as, “What is the average cost of an estate plan?” and “How do I find the best estate planning near me?”

Table of Contents
What is Meant by Estate Planning? Which Services Can Estate Planning Near Me Provide? Why Do You Need Estate Planning? How Do I Find A Good Estate Planner? How Much Does Estate Planning Cost? Wealth Management Firms for Estate Planning Working with Pillar Wealth Management

What is Meant by Estate Planning?

Although the term estate planning may lead you to believe it has something to do with real estate, that is far from the truth. Estate planning does involve your real estate properties, but it includes all your other assets too. It is a collection of services that allow you to prepare for the distribution of your estates, i.e., assets, after your death. It covers aspects such as how your wealth will be transferred to your heirs, how much will go to charities, and how estate taxes will be managed.

If you’re on the fence about enlisting “estate planning near me,” you can read our book, The Art of Protecting Ultra-High Net Worth Portfolios and Estates – Strategies For Families Worth $25 Million To $500 Million. It can help you understand the importance of protecting your estate from potential threats.

Which Services Can “Estate Planning Near Me” Provide?

If you’re wondering, “Can I do my estate planning myself?” it is wiser to understand how professionals can help you with your estate plan. They have experience working with and minimizing estate tax laws and helping clients with high-value portfolios transfer their wealth successfully. Here are a few ways that an estate planner or an estate planning attorney can benefit you.

Tax Exemption Strategies

When the total value of your estate amounts to more than the exemption limit, you are liable to pay estate taxes on everything above that limit. Your estate’s value includes more than just your home and business properties. It covers all your assets, cash, investments, retirement accounts, and any other non-cash assets.

The problem here is that most of your estate is tied up in non-liquid assets, leaving only a percentage of your estate in liquid assets. Without taking advantage of proper tax planning with “estate planning near me,” your heirs might resort to selling off your assets to pay the hefty tax bills.

Attorneys that specialize in “estate planning near me” are acutely aware of this. Therefore, they routinely implement tax exemption strategies to help your beneficiaries inherit as much of your wealth as possible. These include moving to a state without estate taxes, setting up donor-advised funds to grow your investments without taxes, or arranging for your heirs to be partners in a business. In some cases, you can spend more of your wealth to reduce your estate’s value.

Setting Up Charitable Trusts and Foundations

Taking advantage of “estate planning for me” allows you to set up trusts and foundations that protect your wealth by assigning portions of your estate as charitable donations. The two types of charitable trusts are remainder trusts and lead trusts. Knowing the details of charitable trusts and how to manage them can be complicated. They will require you to have an advisory team that comprises an estate attorney, a tax accountant, and a wealth manager.

On the other hand, foundations and family limited partnerships involve setting a new organization altogether. Foundations, such as medical research, business grants, or college scholarships, remain under your estate’s control. A family limited partnership allows you to manage your investments while protecting them from external entities such as creditors or divorced spouses. These are also complex but powerful strategies that require you to work with a team of specialists.

Setting Up Life Insurance Policies

Buying life insurance is a great strategy to allow your inheritors to pay tax bills without having to sell off your assets or deplete their inheritance. You can secure a death benefit number to cover a significant portion of the expected estate tax. Alternatively, you could opt for an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT), which alters the structure of your life insurance to help reduce estate taxes.

Creating a Will

Your family and other beneficiaries may rely on your wealth to sustain their lifestyle, pay for their expenses, and seek out more opportunities. Inheritance laws can change, and without you there to appropriately distribute your estate, your wealth could end up in the wrong hands. That is why creating a will is so essential. An estate planner can help you write up a will that benefits you and your family, supporting them financially even when you’re gone.

Part of “estate planning near me” is having a team of financial advisors that can help you reach your goals. For individuals with over 10 million dollars, this means finding the best financial advisor you can to guide you in protecting and transferring your estate. Our Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Financial Advisor for Families worth $5 Million to $500 Million can make this easier for you.

Why You Need Estate Planning: 4 Key Reasons

Managing your finances is not a simple task when you have millions of dollars’ worth of assets. Whether it’s tax planning, estate planning, retirement planning, or investment management, a professional in “estate planning near me” can help you achieve your goals and enhance your wealth. For example, wealth managers use strategies to help maximize your portfolio performance, as we discuss in our 5 Shifts Guide.

Similarly, by availing yourself of “estate planning near me,” you can save time, prepare for the future, minimize disputes over inheritance, and save you unnecessary costs. We discuss each of these below.

1. To Save Yourself Some Time

Wealth and property distribution can be a lengthy process that can take up to several months. The process of meeting with attorneys, filling out documentation, and consulting financial professionals is very time-consuming. “Estate planning near me” allows you to pass on your fortune as quickly and smoothly as possible to your family or beneficiaries.

2.To Prepare for the Future

“Estate planning near me” prepares you for more than just what will happen to your estate after your death. It also considers unforeseen events that can leave you incapacitated. In such cases, you might be unable to care for your family or dependents, and they might not be able to care for you. You can prepare for such situations by setting up a management system that will be outlined in your estate plan. This will also protect you from being taken advantage of. If you would like to learn more about how estate planning can help you prepare for your future, you can have a chat with one of our wealth managers.

3.To Minimize Disputes

The last thing you would want is your family to dispute over your estate when you’re gone. Properly developed “estate planning near me” defines how much of your wealth is distributed to each beneficiary. This can help reduce any tension involving their inheritance by ensuring that each person receives the amount you left them.

4.To Save on Unnecessary Costs

If you don’t invest in “estate planning near me” to have an estate plan in effect, the court system will take on the task of distributing your wealth. Your inheritors will be forced into this long and expensive process, where a chunk of your wealth might just end up being used for attorney fees. A proper estate plan saves your family from this hassle.

How Do I Find Estate Planning Near Me?

If you’re wondering, “How do I find good estate planning near me?” you can use our Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Financial Advisor for Families worth $5 Million to $500 Million as a reference. It highlights all the things you should consider before working with any financial advisor.

In your search for “estate planning near me,” you might need to consult with multiple estate attorneys before selecting the right one. Your goal should be to hire an expert who specializes in creating personalized, high-quality plans for wealthy clients.

How Much Does Estate Planning Cost?

As you’ll discover when looking for “estate planning near me,” the fee structure of an estate planner or estate attorney can be crucial in your decision to hire one. So, when you’re wondering, “What is the average cost of an estate plan?” keep in mind that their fee could range from anywhere as little as $150 to $200 for creating a will to an hourly consultation rate of $250 to $300. It all depends on how complex your financial situation is, how qualified your estate attorney is, and how much experience they have.

If you choose to work with a team providing “estate planning near me,” which you will eventually need to, you’ll have to add in the fees of a wealth manager, tax accountant, and any other financial professional whose services you need.

Wealth Management Firms for Estate Planning

Before you ask, “Can I do my own estate planning?” you should take some time to consider your options. Apart from financial advisors and estate planners, wealth managers can also give you advice on estate planning.

A wealth manager allows you to access other financial services in addition to estate planning. Their experience with high net worth and ultra-high net worth investors makes them well-equipped to manage the needs and concerns of wealthy families. They can use wealth-building strategies by improving your portfolio’s performance. We talk about this in great detail in our Performance Guide.

Private wealth management firms are specialized in financial matters that wealthy investors are most concerned with, e.g., estate planning, retirement planning, and investment management. At Pillar Wealth Management, we offer personalized services to each client. You can talk with our expert managers to learn more about how our wealth management services can help you enhance your wealth.

Working with Pillar Wealth Management

Estate planning requires skill and experience. As a high net worth or ultra-high net worth investor, you have multiple properties or estates, which means that your estate plan will be more complex. When you start searching for “estate planning near me,” you need to be careful that your estate planner or financial advisor is qualified for the job.

At Pillar Wealth Management, we have worked with wealthy families with a liquid net worth of 5 million to 500 million dollars for decades. We can work with your estate planning attorney to help you develop strategies that help you achieve your long-term plan. If you would like to enlist our wealth management services, you can contact us to schedule your first meeting.

Authors

Hutch Ashoo

Chris Snyder

To be 100% transparent, we published this page to help filter through the mass influx of prospects, who come to us through our website and referrals, to gain only a handful of the right types of new clients who wish to engage us.

We enjoy working with high net worth and ultra-high net worth investors and families who want what we call financial serenity – the feeling that comes when you know your finances and the lifestyle you desire have been secured for life, and that you don’t have to do any of the work to manage and maintain it because you hired a trusted advisor to take care of everything.

You see, our goal is to only accept 17 new clients this year. Clients who have from $5 million to $500 million in liquid investable assets to entrust us with on a 100% fee basis. No commissions and no products for sale.