Plan Today for the
Legacy You Want to Leave

Estate and legacy planning helps coordinate how your assets are managed and ultimately transferred according to your wishes. It can include estate documents prepared by an attorney, beneficiary designations, account ownership, retirement assets, investments, insurance, tax considerations, charitable giving, and strategies for transferring wealth to family members or other beneficiaries.

Legacy planning can go a step further by considering how you want your wealth to support the people, priorities, and causes that matter to you, both during your lifetime and after your death.

A financial advisor and an estate attorney serve different but complementary roles. An estate attorney prepares legal documents such as wills, trusts, and powers of attorney and provides legal advice regarding your estate.

A financial advisor can help coordinate your investments, retirement accounts, insurance, beneficiary designations, and other financial assets with the goals established in your estate plan. When appropriate, your financial advisor can work alongside your attorney and tax professional so the different pieces of your plan are aligned.

A will provides instructions for how certain assets should be distributed after your death and can address matters such as naming an executor and guardians for minor children.

A trust is a separate legal arrangement that can hold and manage assets for designated beneficiaries according to terms established in the trust. Depending on the type of trust and how it is structured and funded, trusts may be used for purposes such as managing assets, controlling how and when beneficiaries receive an inheritance, planning for incapacity, or avoiding probate for assets properly held in the trust.

Because wills and trusts are legal documents, an estate attorney should help determine which approach is appropriate for your circumstances.

For many financial accounts and insurance policies, yes. Assets such as retirement accounts and life insurance generally pass according to the beneficiary designation on the account or policy rather than instructions in a will.

That's one reason beneficiary designations should be reviewed periodically and coordinated with your broader estate plan, particularly after major life events such as marriage, divorce, births, deaths, or changes in family circumstances.

There is no single schedule that's right for everyone, but it's a good idea to review your estate plan periodically and whenever there is a significant change in your life, family, finances, or goals.

Marriage, divorce, the birth of a child or grandchild, retirement, an inheritance, the sale of a business or property, a move to another state, or a meaningful change in wealth can all be reasons to revisit your planning. Even without a major event, a periodic review can help identify outdated beneficiaries or financial arrangements.

Retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s generally transfer through beneficiary designations, and inherited retirement accounts are subject to specific distribution and tax rules.

Coordinating retirement account beneficiaries with your estate plan can therefore be particularly important. Your financial advisor, estate attorney, and tax professional can help evaluate how those assets fit into your broader wealth-transfer strategy.

Yes. Charitable giving can be incorporated into both lifetime financial planning and estate planning. Depending on your goals and circumstances, strategies might involve cash gifts, appreciated securities, donor-advised funds, qualified charitable distributions from IRAs for eligible individuals, charitable trusts, or gifts made through an estate.

The appropriate strategy depends on your charitable intentions, assets, tax situation, and overall financial plan, so coordination among your financial, tax, and legal professionals can be important.

No. Estate planning can be important at many levels of wealth. At its most basic, it helps establish who should receive your assets, who can make certain decisions if you become unable to do so, and whether your financial accounts and beneficiary designations reflect your wishes.

As assets or family circumstances become more complex, estate and legacy planning can also address tax considerations, trusts, insurance, charitable giving, and multigenerational wealth transfer.