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Estate Planning

Estate Planning

Estate planning is more than completing a living will and filing documents with your attorney. It's ensuring that the legacy you've created helps the people and organizations closest to you reach their dreams even after you're gone. 


Legacy Planning, in our comprehensive view, can be defined as "ensuring you pass down your assets to whom you want to receive them, as efficiently as possible." This process involves careful consideration of various financial and legal strategies to optimize the transfer of wealth to your beneficiaries. With the ever-evolving tax code, expertise in estate planning is vital to ensure you're making appropriate adjustments to effectively pass down your assets while minimizing potential tax burdens.

Strategies for Estate Planning

It's crucial to understand that Retirement, Tax, and Estate planning are interconnected components of a holistic financial strategy. Certain withdrawal strategies might lead to appropriate tax deferral, ultimately maximizing your estate planning efforts. By carefully coordinating these elements, you can create a robust financial legacy that aligns with your wishes and values.

To achieve optimal results in estate planning, several strategies can be employed, including:

  • Establishing Trusts: Trusts offer a versatile tool for asset protection, tax minimization, and controlled distribution of wealth. Various types of trusts, such as revocable living trusts, irrevocable trusts, or charitable trusts, can be tailored to meet specific estate planning goals.
  • Converting traditional retirement assets to Roth: This strategy can provide tax-free growth and withdrawals for beneficiaries, potentially reducing their future tax burden.
  • Delaying utilization of low-basis stock: By holding onto appreciated securities, you can take advantage of the step-up in cost basis at death, potentially eliminating capital gains taxes for your heirs.
  • Implementing unique insurance strategies: Life insurance policies can be structured to provide liquidity for estate taxes, equalize inheritances among beneficiaries, or fund charitable bequests.

Remember, estate planning is not a one-time event but an ongoing process that should be reviewed and updated regularly to reflect changes in your personal circumstances, financial situation, and relevant tax laws.

Additional Estate Planning Strategies

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2026 Planning Outlook

In our final installment of the 2026 Outlook series, Baird’s Wealth Planning experts share opportunities for the year ahead.

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Staying Out of Probate

A wise use of trusts can keep your heirs from the hassle of probate court.

Additionally, consider exploring advanced estate planning techniques such as:

  • Gifting strategies to reduce estate size and potential tax liability
  • Family limited partnerships or limited liability companies for business succession planning
  • Qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs) for transferring real estate
  • Grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) for transferring appreciating assets

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