Trust & Estate Planning
Everyone has an estate and needs to plan for it. Baker Tilly’s trust, gift and estate professionals will coordinate a plan based on your objectives now and for the future.
Trust & Estate Planning
Andrea Forshee
Director
Charles J. Inderieden
Principal
Michael Lum
Director, J.D.
Jennifer A. Ward
Principal
As you make decisions to ensure your estate plan accomplishes your objectives, Baker Tilly can be your guide.
Our professionals will work with you and your advisors to clarify your goals and objectives. Then, we will identify solutions, design a plan and implementation timeline, prepare for taxes, and more.
At a glance
Baker Tilly has expertise working with families with multigenerational wealth, business owners, family offices and high-net-worth individuals. Our professionals can help coordinate an estate plan that achieves your objectives and provides reassurance for you and your family. When designing your plan, we consider your unique goals and work to minimize tax implications. And as your goals evolve, our professionals will adapt the plan.
Our trust, gift and estate services
- Wealth transfer economic and tax analysis
- Financial planning, including cash flow analysis
- Lifetime transfer planning
- Charitable giving and foundation planning
- Estate management and distribution planning
- Multistate estate planning
- International estate planning
- Asset protection planning
- Valuation services
- Trust planning
Everyone needs an estate plan. Why?
Your estate makes up everything that you own or have an interest in. For example, bank or brokerage accounts, residences, physical assets, etc. are all part of your estate.
Proactively creating a plan can ensure that these assets are distributed how you wish versus how a statute defines. If you don’t plan ahead, “Uncle Sam” or your state of residence may become your heir.
In New York, if a decedent has a spouse and children, the spouse inherits $50,000 plus half of the estate value and the children inherit the balance – outright. To avoid this, couples can draft a will and create trusts to make use of federal and state lifetime exemptions and protect their assets for the surviving spouse and children.
Your will should be an integral part of your estate plan and helps to outline to whom your wealth should be transferred.
Where should you begin?
Start by putting together a list of all your assets and to whom you’d like to leave your assets to. From there, consult our professionals as well as a lawyer or any other advisors that you currently work with. We’ll work side-by-side to ensure your assets are protected and your estate is properly planned.
“Our professionals aren’t afraid to suggest forward-thinking strategies that will best suit you and your family. Our number one goal is to ensure your loved ones are taken care of in the way you intended.”Randi Schuster, Principal
Featured services
Individual Income Tax Planning & Compliance
Taxes are inevitable, but have you proactively planned for tax compliance? Baker Tilly’s private wealth tax professionals can optimize your tax strategy now, for tomorrow.
Charitable Giving & Philanthropy
If giving back is key to enhancing your legacy, let us work with you to maximize the benefits.
Family Office
Baker Tilly’s family office professionals combine expertise with forward-thinking strategy, to enhance and protect your evolving legacy.
Family Business
The stages of life and business can be unpredictable and disruptive. Baker Tilly’s family business team offers a range of innovative services to make the journey approachable and successful.
Ownership Transition & Exit Strategies
One of the most significant changes to a business and its stakeholders can be the transfer of ownership. Baker Tilly can help you prepare for transition now, for tomorrow.
Wealth Management Consulting
Your wealth is measured in more than just numbers. That’s why our wealth management advisors take the time to get to know you and your goals first.
Featured insights
The basics of estate planning
Download our e-book, “The basics of estate planning” for an easy-to-understand introduction to protecting your assets and ensuring your legacy.
Give it away now? The sunset of the gift and estate tax exemption is around the corner
The sunset of the gift and estate tax exemption is around the corner. What’s at stake for those who can afford to use the higher exemption?
Inflation increases present more opportunities for smart gift giving
Projected inflation increases to the gift and estate tax basic exclusion and the gift tax annual exclusion present opportunities for smart gift giving.
Volatile economic signals present opportunity for beneficial re-evaluation of estate and business plans
Read our article to learn more on re-examining your estate plan and adjusting your portfolio to take advantage of the volatile environment.
Managing your inheritance
Download Baker Tilly’s generational wealth e-book to learn best practices for managing your wealth including tips for saving, investing, taxes and more.
Our professionals
The information provided here is of a general nature and is not intended to address the specific circumstances of any individual or entity. In specific circumstances, the services of a professional should be sought. Tax information, if any, contained in this communication was not intended or written to be used by any person for the purpose of avoiding penalties, nor should such information be construed as an opinion upon which any person may rely. The intended recipients of this communication and any attachments are not subject to any limitation on the disclosure of the tax treatment or tax structure of any transaction or matter that is the subject of this communication and any attachments.