Estate Planning
Estate planning is the process of structuring your assets so that your wealth transfers to your heirs with the least possible tax burden. Without a plan, your family may face estate taxes, probate delays, and unintended distribution of assets.
Where Estate Plans Fall Short
Each situation below is one a coordinated plan, built alongside your estate-planning attorney, is designed to address.
Probate can stall for months
When an estate enters probate, the court process can run for many months before your family receives anything. Coordinated planning, alongside your estate-planning attorney, may help your assets transfer more smoothly.
A judge may name your children's guardian
Without named guardians, a judge could decide who raises your minor children, sometimes without ever knowing your family. Clear documents, drafted with your attorney, can help keep that choice yours.
Wealth can quietly route to the IRS
Without coordinated planning, more of your estate may pass to taxes than to your family. We model the tax impact alongside your estate-planning attorney, with planning designed to help more reach your heirs.
An unplanned exit, a forced sale
Without a documented succession plan, a sudden exit can force a rushed sale of the business at a discount. We can model the financial impact alongside your estate-planning attorney.
Incapacity can put a court in charge
Without powers of attorney and a healthcare directive, a court may appoint someone to decide on your care and finances. We coordinate with your attorney so the right people can step in.
Old beneficiary forms can override your will
Retirement accounts and life insurance pass by beneficiary form, not by your will, so an outdated designation could send money to an ex-spouse. We review yours alongside your estate-planning attorney.
Why Estate Planning Matters
Estate planning is not just for the ultra-wealthy. Anyone who owns a home, has children, or holds retirement accounts should have a plan in place. Without one, state intestacy laws determine who inherits your assets, and that outcome rarely matches what you would have chosen.
For high-net-worth families, the stakes are even higher. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 made the federal estate and gift tax exemption permanent at a historically high level, $15 million per individual and $30 million per married couple in 2026, indexed for inflation, removing the reduction that prior law had scheduled for the end of 2025. Even so, there is no guarantee that Congress will not reduce the exemption through future legislation, and families with estates approaching the threshold still benefit from planning ahead so that more passes to their heirs rather than to the IRS.
Beyond taxes, estate planning covers powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and guardianship designations. These documents ensure that your wishes are followed even if you become incapacitated, sparing your family from painful legal battles during an already difficult time.
Do You Have a Complete Estate Plan?
A complete estate plan typically includes a revocable living trust, a pour-over will, durable powers of attorney for finances and healthcare, beneficiary designations aligned with the trust, and a plan for minimizing estate and gift taxes. Many families have some of these pieces but not all of them.
One of the most common gaps we see is outdated beneficiary designations. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and transfer-on-death accounts pass directly to named beneficiaries, regardless of what your will or trust says. If those designations have not been reviewed since a major life event, your assets may not end up where you expect.
We conduct a thorough estate-plan audit for every Planning Club member, identifying gaps and coordinating with your estate-planning attorney to close them.
How We Help
Our role is not to replace your estate-planning attorney but to work alongside them. We bring the financial analysis: projecting estate values, modeling gift strategies, and quantifying the tax impact of different trust structures. Your attorney provides the legal drafting.
For families with complex situations, such as blended families, business interests, or charitable goals, this collaboration is critical. We make sure the financial plan and the legal documents tell the same story.
We also help with the practical side of estate planning: organizing account information, titling assets correctly, and making sure your family knows where to find important documents when the time comes.
Who This Is For
- Homeowners, parents, and anyone holding retirement accounts who wants their wishes followed
- High-net-worth families with estates near or above the exemption, or who want to plan against the risk that Congress reduces it through future legislation
- Families with blended households, business interests, or charitable goals
- Anyone whose beneficiary designations have not been reviewed since a major life event
- People looking only for a lawyer to draft documents, with no financial analysis
- Those who prefer their financial plan and legal documents to stay disconnected
- People whose estate plan is to 'bounce their last check,' or who do not expect meaningful residual assets at death
Risks, Costs, and What to Weigh
- Doing nothing means state intestacy laws decide who inherits, and probate can stall distributions for months.
- The 2025 law made the estate and gift tax exemption permanent rather than letting it fall at the end of 2025, but there is no guarantee that Congress will not reduce it through future legislation, and estates that grow past the exemption over time can face tax that earlier planning may have reduced.
- A financial plan and legal documents that are not coordinated can contradict each other; an outdated beneficiary form can override a will.
- We provide the financial analysis and coordination, not the legal drafting, so your estate-planning attorney stays part of the process.
How Common Estate-Planning Tools Compare
How common estate-planning tools compare on probate, control, and estate tax.
| Tool | Avoids probate | Control while living | Can reduce estate tax | Typical role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will (or pour-over will) | No, generally passes through probate | Full, takes effect at death | No, by itself | Names guardians and directs anything not otherwise titled |
| Revocable living trust | Yes, for assets titled into it | Full, you can amend or revoke it | No, assets remain in your estate | Core probate-avoidance and incapacity tool |
| Irrevocable trust | Yes | Limited, terms generally cannot be changed | May move assets outside your taxable estate | Advanced tax and asset-protection planning |
| Beneficiary designation | Yes, passes directly to the named beneficiary | Full, update the form anytime | No | Governs retirement accounts and life insurance, and can override your will |
Educational only; these tools are used together, alongside your estate-planning attorney.
Why Whitwell
Why coordinate estate planning with Whitwell
Your legal documents and your financial plan should tell the same story.
Fee-only, with nothing to sell
We are paid only by our clients, so the estate strategy is shaped by your family's goals, not by a product or a commission.
The financial analysis your attorney does not do
We project estate values, model gift strategies, and quantify the tax impact of trust structures; your attorney provides the legal drafting.
Beneficiary forms and titling checked against the plan
Retirement accounts and life insurance pass by beneficiary form, not by your will; we review both so an outdated form cannot override your intent.
An estate-plan audit for every Planning Club member
Gaps are identified and closed in coordination with your estate-planning attorney, and revisited as laws and life change.
- How does proactive tax planning fit with my estate plan?
- What is a family office, and when does it make sense?
- How should appreciated real estate be positioned for heirs?
- How does estate planning change for a Solo Ager, with no spouse or adult child to step in?
- What are Whitwell & Co.'s firm facts and credentials?
Written by: Rosemary Wright, CFP®
Reviewed by: Stefan Whitwell, CFA®, CIPM
Last updated:
Sources (verified):
- Internal Revenue Service, Estate Tax
- Internal Revenue Service, Frequently Asked Questions on Estate Taxes
- American Bar Association, Estate Planning and Probate resources