WEALTH TRANSFER PLANNING SERVICES
The Estates and Trusts Department of Garrity, Graham, Murphy, Garofalo & Flinn works with clients of all ages to create estate plans for the tax efficient transfer of wealth in the manner chosen by our clients for their own, and their family's and friends' benefit.
We are accustomed to working either independently or as a member of a team that may include an accountant, financial planner, investment advisor, custodian, trustee or an insurance professional.
We combine the proven methods of effective estate planning with the latest gift and tax planning strategies designed to maximize the advantages allowed by law. We measure our success by our ability to devise a plan that will safely navigate the requirements of state and federal law, as it accomplishes our client's chosen objectives.
Our point of beginning is to assist our client in cataloguing assets, defining objectives and assessing the needs of beneficiaries. With this foundation in place, we identify and recommend the strategies we believe are appropriate. Once our client is in agreement, we create the required estate planning documents and supervise their execution.
Once the plan has been created, we help organize the re-titling and transfers of assets that are often required, and with confirming or changing beneficiary designations of IRA, 401K and similar tax deferred accounts and life insurance policies. We offer advice on establishing appropriate ongoing maintenance plans for matters such as annual filings for charitable entities, books and records that sufficiently detail the activities of entities such as family limited partnerships and private foundations and tax filings for all taxable entities.
A closely held family business presents unique estate planning challenges and many opportunities. We work with our client to objectively assess the strengths of the business and the generation that will be its new owners and beneficiaries of its success. A family business transfer plan must address the wide range of interests, or rivalries, and talents of succeeding family members, or risk undermining the life-work of the founder.
The family business transfer plan is often a combination of strategies carefully designed to meet competing business, financial and family concerns. It must satisfy the needs of the departing generation, create a springboard for the talents of the succeeding generation and position the business to grow. Whether it is to be an immediate turnover or a gradual transition, a seamless transfer of legal and beneficial ownership to the succeeding generation is essential if the business is to thrive.
Charitable gift planning is an important component of many of our clients' plans. The combining of charitable gifts with non-charitable transfers often enables our clients to accomplish both objectives while substantially reducing their total transfer tax liability. Whether the solution is a simple legacy or a private foundation, a bargain sale or a split interest charitable lead or remainder trust, a planned gift can frequently enhance the value of the non-charitable gift that family and friends will enjoy.
A planned charitable giving strategy may include gifts made during life, at death or both. Helping our client to understand the role of the charitable gift in the estate plan and its impact on the surviving family can be the most valuable advice we offer our clients. Moreover, in addition to the tax and financial benefits, creating an opportunity for descendants to be active in charitable giving can be the means by which a client transmits and perpetuates his or her cherished values.
Our planning professionals also assist our clients with advice on planning for incapacity. Topics such as living trusts, guardianships, living wills, advance health care directives and durable powers of attorney are only the beginning of a coherent plan for incapacity. Planning for long term medical and residential care is more important than ever, for clients with substantial means as well as those less fortunate.
Finally, a wealth transfer plan must be as dynamic as the client and family it serves. The plan must be structured to evolve with both our client's and the beneficiaries' needs and circumstances, as well as the changing mandates of law. The need for periodic confirmations of bearings and adjustments to the course must be anticipated in the initial plan and executed with the same analytical deliberation and attention to detail. We are eager to assist in all such cases.
ESTATE AND TRUST ADMINISTRATION SERVICES
The administration of a wealth transfer plan after its creation is the vital second step towards its successful completion. From the probate and administration of uncomplicated wills, to the management of more complicated plans, our team of professionals brings many years of dedicated experience to the administration of our clients' plans.
A planning strategy must be conscientiously administered if it is to accomplish its intended purpose. We work with our clients to assure their livings trusts are properly funded, appropriate records are maintained for their family partnerships, necessary filings are made for their charitable entities and tax returns are filed for all their taxable entities.
We also believe it is essential to monitor the human needs of our client and his or her family and friends, for whom the transfer plan has been created. In the end, our most sophisticated planning efforts must continue to evolve with to the needs of those they were created to address. We believe that our trust and estate planning and administration is a process rather than a transaction and we look forward to an enduring relationship with our client.
Finally we believe that an important part of our service is to assure that our clients receive competent advice from related professionals such as accountants, insurance advisors, financial advisors and investment managers, when it is needed. The successful administration of a trust or an estate often requires expertise in several disciplines. We do not hesitate to recommend that our clients employ those professionals necessary to enable them to efficiently accomplish their objectives.
