Videos

AI can make it easier to draft estate planning documents, but producing a trust is not the same as creating an estate plan. Court rulings are made by human judges, and while AI can be a useful tool, using it instead of an experienced attorney can place your assets and estate at real risk of […]

Asset protection is most effective when it is established before a financial threat arises. Once a lawsuit, creditor claim, or other known risk exists, the options available may be significantly limited. Protecting wealth therefore requires proactive planning rather than a response after exposure has already developed. A strong asset protection strategy considers how assets are […]

Building substantial wealth is only part of the challenge. Preserving it across generations requires a plan for what happens to those assets as families grow, circumstances change, and wealth passes from one generation to the next. Without that structure, even significant wealth can erode over time.  Generational wealth planning extends beyond investments and basic estate […]

Asset protection does not always require a trust. State law may already protect certain personally owned assets from creditors. Texas, for example, provides significant protections for a qualifying homestead and certain retirement assets, while residents of other states may have considerably fewer protections available to them.  The first step in asset protection planning is therefore […]

If you are building a trust for long-term family protection, where you situs that trust is critical. South Dakota and Wyoming are often presented as comparable options. They are not. One offers a longer track record, stronger privacy, and more predictable outcomes when tested over time. Lets get into it. Jurisdiction determines how a trust […]

We have a really important presidential election coming up in 2024—about 5 months away—and it’s highly relevant to estate tax planning. Let’s go over a few things to keep in mind. Back in 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was passed. At that time, you could pass roughly $5.5 million in assets without […]

It’s really interesting that, in this day and age, we have access to all kinds of information. You can look up almost anything about anybody and find some level of detail. Almost everyone has some sort of internet footprint, whether it’s just their phone number and address—it can all be found online. One of the […]

Make Your Assets Invisible: Why Modern Estate Planning Removes Your Name from Assets Privacy is the new currency. This powerful phrase captures a fundamental shift happening in estate planning today. Families with significant assets are discovering that the old approach of holding everything in their personal names creates unnecessary exposure, legal vulnerability, and public visibility […]

Regardless of what your ultimate gifting strategy is—whether you’re gifting assets outright to individuals or gifting assets into irrevocable trusts for purposes of protecting them and furthering estate tax planning—how you do the gifting is so important. You’re hearing a lot of conversations about estate tax right now because, in 18 months, estate tax laws […]