If you are entering a marriage or remarriage with significant assets, children from a prior relationship, business interests, inherited property, or a clear vision for your legacy, you may have been told that you need a will, a trust, or a marital agreement. These documents are often discussed together, but they serve different purposes. Treating […]
Continue reading…The Access Problem: When Clients (or Their Families) Cannot Reach What Matters
A client departs New York for business on a morning flight and is in London by the evening of the same day. Midair, they receive a potential fraud alert from their bank. Once back on the ground, they biometrically unlock their banking app on a train ride to the hotel and chat with a customer […]
Continue reading…Locked Out: Why Travel Can Expose the Weakest Part of Your Estate Plan
An irony of modern estate planning is that the more secure we make our digital lives, the more vulnerable we are to a planning lockdown when a crisis hits. This digital paradox is not unique to estate planning. We have all experienced technology that is supposed to make life easier but occasionally causes frustration. Security […]
Continue reading…Cross-Border Clients, Cross-Border Risk
Clients who travel internationally or own foreign assets may move fluidly among languages, cultures, and customs. However, they may not realize that their estate plan will not automatically follow them across foreign borders. Advisors and clients must be mindful of the limits of domestic planning and understand that plans written around US laws may not […]
Continue reading…Crossing Borders: When Your Estate Plan Does Not Travel with You
If you travel internationally, you may move fluidly among languages, cultures, and customs. However, you may not realize that your estate plan will not automatically follow you across foreign borders. Plans written around US laws may not be recognized or function as intended in other countries. An international lifestyle should be paired with an estate […]
Continue reading…When Clients Travel, Small Gaps Can Turn into Big Problems
Travel takes us out of our comfort zone, exposes us to new stimuli, and can rekindle a sense of awe as we leave the familiar behind and embrace the unknown. It also challenges us to think and act differently. But by stripping away our daily routines, travel can expose gaps in how prepared a person […]
Continue reading…What Happens If Something Goes Wrong While Traveling?
Travel takes us out of our comfort zone, exposes us to new stimuli, and can rekindle a sense of awe as we leave the familiar behind and embrace the unknown. It also challenges us to think and act differently. But by stripping away our daily routines, travel can expose gaps in how prepared we are […]
Continue reading…A Windfall and a Target: Navigating Family Expectations After Sudden Wealth
Good news in the form of a sudden windfall can put your family in a new financial position that may materially alter your legacy and estate plan. And while it may seem like a pure positive, it can also attract the attention of the Internal Revenue Service and prompt a reevaluation of which extended family […]
Continue reading…Sudden Wealth Event: Restructuring for Complexity and Tax Efficiency
Good news in the form of a sudden windfall can force a family into a new financial position that materially alters their legacy and estate plan. While newly acquired wealth may seem purely positive, it can attract the attention of the Internal Revenue Service and prompt an evaluation of which extended family members or charities […]
Continue reading…How to Support a Client’s Adult Child Through a Personal Crisis
Whether it is the onset of a disability or chronic illness later in life or struggles with substance abuse, financial collapse, or bankruptcy, a personal crisis affecting a client’s adult child can affect the entire family. Parents may feel an urgent need to help but are not always sure how. Their personal feelings can complicate […]
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