Wealthy families often require more comprehensive and sophisticated planning to achieve their goals. If you are a wealthy family, your needs may range from ensuring the most tax efficient methods of transferring your assets to your children and grandchildren to making sure that the continuation of your family business is not threatened by the death of a key person.
Most of our clients share a primary goal of maintaining as much control over their assets as possible during their lifetimes without exposing their estates to unnecessary taxation. Wealthy individuals often find that it is advisable to begin transferring their wealth before death in order to minimize potential estate tax consequences. But sometimes they worry about giving too much money to their children without proper safeguards. Perhaps you would like to be able to guide the next generation so that they can become competent stewards of your wealth.
We help you determine the best ways to make those transfers without jeopardizing what you have worked so hard to accumulate.
Laureate planning at Moynihan Lyons ensures that the net worth you have built is protected and that the assets you pass on are sheltered from unnecessary estate or income tax. Laureate planning guards your assets for future generations.
Laureate planning incorporates the Integrated Plan. This plan builds on your family’s foundational plan and utilizes a process of review, design and implementation. The review includes coming to a deeper understanding of family dynamics, needs and desires to develop recommendations. You are then taken step-by-step through the preliminary and final plan design to tailor the plan to your unique needs. After the plan is designed, we supervise and coordinate the implementation of the plan. Recommendations, including fees and time tables, are outlined following a thorough review of your family and estate information.
We have just received notice of the amount of the 2012 increase to the Aid & Attendance benefit. Starting in January, married Veterans can receive up to $2,019/mo. in reimbursement for unreimbursed medical expenses. Single Veterans can receive up to $1,703/mo. And Surviving Spouses may be eligible for up to $1,094/mo. This is the first [...]
So what can I share with the adult children of my clients who are looking for a bit of financial relief?
Most Americans have never discussed what should happen when they die. There are many decisions to make, yet they have very little help in making those decisions. Studies show that more than 90% of Americans believe that pre-funding their funeral is a good idea, yet only 12% have done it. Studies also show that elder [...]
There are unique planning requirements for families with children, grandchildren or other family members (such as parents) with special needs. However, a lot of misconceptions exist in this area that result in costly mistakes in planning for special needs beneficiaries. In this post we will cover the three most common mistakes related to special needs [...]
Medi-cal (called Medicaid in states other than California) planning can be divided into two types based on urgency: pre-planning and crisis planning. Pre-planning is for those individuals who have not yet begun to spend their assets on private care, but may need to in the coming years. Crisis planning is for those individuals using their [...]
While disability and retirement planning, and special needs planning can be ‘top of mind’ issues for boomers or older seniors, there are two additional essential estate planning needs that are not directly tied to the economy. These two concerns, if not addressed adequately, are responsible for a lot of family discord and discontent, not to [...]
These are difficult times. Consumer confidence is low, and its a long way before the economy is expected to fully recover. Many of us are concerned, wondering what planning we should do now, if any. For the vast majority of Americans, planning is not discretionary. These individuals continue to have personal concerns that they need [...]
In previous posts I discussed how long term care needs of seniors can be met through self (or third-party) insurance. But what if these are not possible options? A senior can use a planning technique called a “Medicaid” trust. (Here in California, it’s called “Medi-Cal” trust). This is part of a comprehensive wealth planning process [...]
In the previous post, we discussed Medicare’s limitations in covering long term care needs. There are several options available, each differing in terms of coverage and complexity. These alternatives are all part of a comprehensive life care planning and wealth management strategy. Here are two basic options available: Self-insurance for possible long term care expenses. [...]