Life Insurance and Retirement Asset Planning Attorneys

In today’s day and age, our clients’ retirement accounts and life insurance benefits can often be their largest assets. These assets are overlooked in any estate plan at great peril. The consequences of ignoring these assets or improperly planning for these assets can be catastrophic to an estate plan. Retirement accounts are subject to both federal estate taxes, as well as federal and state income taxes. It can come as a surprise to some people, but life insurance benefits are generally also subject to federal estate tax. Any analysis of your estate’s value for estate tax purposes must take these assets into account.

As these assets tend to be some of our clients’ largest, care should be taken in how these assets are transferred to future generations. It is not helpful to create a Last Will or Trust containing elaborate asset management clauses on behalf of indebted, disabled, or minor children, only to discover that these clauses will not have the intended effect due to contradictory beneficiary designations.

The Miller Law Firm, PA can help you review your beneficiary designations and assist you if changes need to be made. We can also assist you in determining what estate planning strategies can be utilized to protect these assets from estate and/or income taxes, as well as implement special management strategies to protect your loved ones from poor handling of the assets. Call the Miller Law Firm, P.A. today at (864) 527-0413.