Significant wealth is rarely built all at once.
A business grows. Investments accumulate. Corporate structures become more sophisticated. Properties are acquired. Children grow up, marry and begin families of their own.
Over time, a financial picture that was once relatively straightforward can become considerably more complex.
But has your estate planning evolved with it?
For affluent families, this is an important question. The planning that worked when your estate was smaller may no longer reflect the businesses, investments, tax exposure, family dynamics and future generations that are part of your life today.
When the Pieces Need to Work Together
Successful families often have several trusted professionals around them — accountants, lawyers, investment advisors and other specialists.
But as wealth grows, individual pieces of good advice are not always enough.
A corporate decision can affect an estate plan. Tax planning can influence succession. The transition of a family business can affect how children are treated. A significant inheritance can raise questions about trusts, divorce, creditors and future grandchildren.
At a certain level of wealth, the question becomes:
Who is looking at how everything works together?
Sophisticated estate planning considers the entire picture — legal, tax, corporate, family and legacy — rather than treating each decision in isolation.
Preparing More Than the Wealth
Some of the most important questions have very little to do with a balance sheet.
Should your children receive significant inheritances outright?
Are they prepared for the responsibility that may accompany substantial wealth?
Who should eventually lead the family business — and should leadership and ownership necessarily be the same?
How do you create fairness when children have different circumstances?
What do you want your grandchildren to understand about the wealth your family has built?
For families with significant wealth, succession is not simply about transferring assets.
It is also about preparing people.
The strongest estate plans consider not only what the next generation will receive, but how family wealth can continue to serve the people and purposes it was built for.
Has Your Plan Kept Pace?
Families change. Businesses grow. Wealth becomes more complex. Priorities evolve.
Your estate planning should evolve too.
If it has been several years since you looked at your planning as a whole, it may be worth asking a different question — not simply, “Do we have an estate plan?”
But rather:
“Does our estate plan still reflect the family and wealth we have today?”
Join Us September 24
Join Sheri MacMillan for our complimentary Private Online Estate Planning Seminar on Thursday,
September 24 at 6:30 PM MT.
We’ll explore the planning considerations that become increasingly important as family wealth grows more complex — including tax, trusts, succession and planning for future generations.
Register today:
https://www.macmillanestate.com/seminars
