Estate Planning
- Will
- Revocable Trust
- Ancillary Documents (Power of Attorney (Durable ?), Living Will, Health Care Surrogate, Declaration of Preneed Guardian and HIPAA Authorization)
- Check: Beneficiary Designations for Qualified Plans, Annuities and IRAs
- Check: Beneficiary Designations for life insurance policies
- Check: Does the client have an umbrella policy
- Check: Does the client have adequate automotive insurance coverage
- Check: Does the client’s umbrella policy or liability insurance policy reflect assets owned by trusts, LLCs, corporations and partnerships
- Check: Ownership of title to automobiles
- Check: Ownership of homestead and whether homestead exemption filed for
- Check: Does client have a prenuptial or premarital agreement; should a postnuptial agreement be created?
Specific Techniques
- Transferring ownership and beneficiary designation to irrevocable life insurance trust (an “ILIT”)
- Creating a family limited partnership or trust structure to hold title to assets
- Ownership of real property using one separate LLC per property
- Foreign and domestic asset protection trusts (including inter vivos QTIP Trusts)
- Private placement life insurance
- Captive insurance company formation for business (to the extent business risks are present)
- Transferring ownership of third and fourth vehicles to limited liability company
- Reorganizing S corporation interests into limited liability companies
- Are assets owned as tenants by the entirety
- Domicile planning for out-of-state residents moving to Florida
Tax Check-up
- Were gift tax returns filed?
- Were Crummey Letters drafted to the extent withdrawal rights present in trust?
- Was GST allocated properly?
- Were Federal Income Tax Returns filed?
- Were foreign trusts and foreign bank accounts properly reported?
- Were S elections timely filed (or filed at all)?
- Verify whether portability election should be made.
Family Office Services
- Bill paying
- Insurance planning
- Investment policy development
- Cash flow analysis
- Agent for trustee compliance
- Investment and beneficiary education
- Annual consolidated net worth statements