Estate Planning
Estate planning today requires more than just a will to protect your needs and wishes in the event of a death or disabling event. From designated beneficiary forms to essential legal documents, SMG provides coordination with the appropriate legal professionals to help develop and/or keep these items up-to-date and aligned with your financial plan.
As part of the organization process, SMG offers an exclusive personal Family Estate OrganizerTM binder, which serves as a practical resource to organize your financial life for you and your loved ones. This organizer can contain all of your relevant legal documents and financial information in a single, protected place. Your organizer can include living wills, tax returns, beneficiary-designation forms, powers of attorney, even usernames and passwords to your financial accounts.
To help you begin organizing your estate, one aspect of our comprehensive estate planning will guide you through a series of vital questions such as:
- Am I at risk to pay a transfer (estate) tax on my estate?
- Do I have the right legal documents to protect what I have worked a lifetime to build?
- How to I take advantage of lifetime gifts to watch my loved ones enjoy the wealth we have built before they inherit the remainder?
- How do I help my favorite charities, but during my life and at death?
- Do I have the right business entity setup?
- Do I have a will and has it been updated?
- Is a living trust right for me?
- What are my health care directives?
- Have I named a power of attorney to handle finances and property?
- Have I updated all of my insurance policies?
Once your estate is in place, the holistic advisors at SMG will regularly review your estate plan to ensure all of the information is updated and working in conjunction with the other aspects of your comprehensive financial plan.
