Preparing for the Transition of Inheriting Wealth

Inheriting wealth is an exciting opportunity but it also presents just as many questions that can be difficult for the beneficiary to work through. Whether you’ve known about the inheritance for a long time or experienced something unexpected, this can be life-changing.

And you might experience some high anxiety as you think about how best to protect this money. You might be asking questions such as does this change my life? How does it change my life? What are the first things I should do to protect this wealth and my own interests? These existential questions can also be worked through with the support of an experienced financial professional.

Research from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that inherited wealth has accounted for up to 20 to 50% of overall household wealth accumulation in the United States. The highest wealth transfer years are currently happening and ahead of us as baby boomers get older.

However, a U.S. Trust survey also found that 78% of respondents who were high net worth individuals felt that the next generation was not financially savvy or responsible enough to be prepared to receive an inheritance. This makes it even more important to think about the goals that you intend to achieve with your estate planning and financial strategies and how you can accomplish these by working with the right financial planner and strategist.

Contact our offices today to learn more about how we can help you with these challenges and more. We’re here to support you if you’re readying to transfer wealth or receive it.

Women Investors Need Advanced Estate Planning

Women who have significant assets set aside in investments should be prepared to accomplish both estate planning and asset protection planning together. NJ-estate-planning-women

A recent advisor authority study found that as the pandemic has raged throughout 2020 and 2021, many women investors have become more concerned about the state of their finances and are worried about the future. In that study approximately 75% of women who had over $100,000 in investable assets indicated that the pandemic had negatively impacted their ability to retire at the age of their choice.

Fewer than one third of the women investors who participated in the study had an optimistic financial outlook throughout 2020 and 2 in 10 said they will have to delay taking retirement income as a result of the impacts of the pandemic.

Although these findings are concerning, many women have turned to financial professionals and estate planning attorneys to help them to accomplish their individual goals and ensure that they have considered all possible places where they are exposed to risks.

Scheduling a consultation with a knowledgeable estate planning lawyer should be the first step in identifying how your estate or financial picture might have shifted as a result of the pandemic and the steps that you should take in order to protect yourself.       

Keeping up with the Jones? How the Wealthiest Families are Protecting Themselves

While asset protection is important for many individuals, it is particularly important for high net worth families. Asset protection strategies for these families should account for the fact that there is often much at stake. A recent article discusses how the wealthiest families are protecting their assets.

In order to begin the process of asset protection planning, a family must first consider the range of risks that they may face. Often, wealthy families are threatened by business liability, personal liability, risks to assets, and health care risks. Many become targets because they are perceived to have “deep” pockets.

One common way wealthy families protect themselves is through the creation of business entities to hold valuable assets. Families who own investment properties, for example, often create a separate business entity for each investment property. If a person slips and falls in one of the investment properties held by a limited liability company (LLC), the person would only be able to pursue the assets located in the limited liability company, rather than the individual’s personal assets.