There’s never been a better time to secure your financial future. As top estate planning attorneys in St. Louis, we specialize in protecting our clients’ assets so they can keep more of their hard-earned wealth. Contact us online to schedule a consultation.
Estate Planning for High Net Worth Individuals and Large Estates
Make no mistake: Almost anyone can benefit from estate planning, regardless of their net worth or the size of their estate. However, for some people—especially high-net-worth individuals—estate planning is absolutely critical.
Whereas someone with a modest estate may only need to utilize one estate-planning tool (such as a will) a high-net-worth individual typically needs to use several strategies, many of which are complex, to cover their bases. They must consider numerous factors, including tax liability, the probate process, fiduciaries and more in order ensure an advantageous wealth transfer.
Luckily, they don’t have to do it alone.
Meet Estate Planning Lawyer David S. Schleiffarth
Our legal experts are adept at designing estate plans for wealthy individuals and families in the Greater St. Louis Metro Area and beyond. We’ll suggest the best asset protection structure for your financial situation and can consult with your financial advisors when necessary.
If you’re searching for a passionate high-net-worth estate planning attorney in Missouri, there’s no better choice than the Law Office of David S. Schleiffarth
Keep reading to learn who is considered a high-net-worth individual, the best legal strategies for retaining more wealth and how we can help protect your family’s legacy for years to come.
Need legal advice? Don’t wait until it’s too late—contact us online to schedule a consultation with one of our legal experts or give us a call at (314) 448-0527.
What Determines High Net Worth?
An individual’s net worth refers to the value of all of their assets—both financial and non-financial—minus the value of their outstanding liabilities. Essentially, net worth is an assessment of someone’s wealth, and people with significant assets are considered high net worth.
Within the financial world, high-net-worth individuals are typically described in terms of their liquid assets and are divided into the following three categories:
- High-net-worth individuals, people with liquid assets are between $1 and $5 million
- Very high-net-worth individuals, those with liquid assets between $5 and $30 million
- Ultra high-net-worth individuals, those with liquid assets totalling more than $30 million
Generally speaking, the higher a person’s net worth, the more complex the estate planning strategies they’ll need to use in order to protect their beneficiaries’ inheritance. This is because wealthier individuals are more likely to have diverse assets, including real estate holdings and investments, as well as many financial obligations.
How Can Estate Planning Help High-Net-Worth Individuals?
Regardless of net worth, the vast majority of people have the same goal: to leave as much wealth as they can for their family and loved ones. When you’re a high-net-worth individual, making sure everyone gets a piece of the pie can be a daunting task. Fortunately, that’s what estate planning lawyers are for.
These are four of the most important considerations for high-net-worth individuals to address in their estate plans:
- Choosing the right trustee
- Minimizing estate tax liability
- Making a plan for incapacitation
- Avoiding probate
Although these factors are among the most important, they are far from the only pertinent considerations. Our high-net-worth planning lawyers specialize in crafting comprehensive strategies to help wealthy clients retain more control over their assets and how they will be handled in the future.
Our Estate Planning Strategies for High-Net-Worth Individuals
When it comes to effective estate planning, there is no “one size fits all” approach. The Law Office of David S. Schleiffarth is proud to offer myriad strategies to our high-net-worth clients to ensure they achieve their financial goals.
Asset Protection Planning
It’s not uncommon for high-net-worth families to avoid estate planning because the topic of mortality is uncomfortable, but in doing so, they’re taking a big risk. Our asset protection planning lawyers can help ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes and that your family members are taken care of, even amid life changes such as marriage, divorce, death and other unexpected events.
After assessing your financial situation, we can suggest a wide range of tools to help you meet your goals. We can assist you with tax planning, navigating the IRS, creating trusts, protecting retirement accounts, establishing advantageous business structures (including LLCs and family limited partnerships) and much, much more.
Power of Attorney Preparation
Your death isn’t the only scenario in which your assets and your family’s financial future may become vulnerable. In the event you are incapacitated, it will be essential to have a person you trust to make pertinent legal and financial decisions on your behalf. We can help you establish a power of attorney and explore other fiduciary appointments.
Trust Preparation
If you pass away with only a will in place, your estate will go through the probate process, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Establishing a trust can help you avoid the probate process, as well as grant you greater control over how your assets are handled and distributed after your death.
There are many different types of trusts, each with their unique rules, parameters and purposes. Luckily, our high-net-worth planning lawyers are experts in all of them. Whether you want to set up a special trust to protect a loved one with disabilities, to avoid generation skipping transfer taxes or to impose spending limits on a spendthrift beneficiary, we’re here to help.
Asset planning, power of attorney preparation and establishing trusts are just a handful of the many tools we’ll use to protect your wealth. When you’re ready to explore the full catalog of your options—from exploring business succession planning and grantor retained annuity trusts to finding exemptions for charitable giving—contact us online to set up a case evaluation.
Protect Your Future with a High-Net-Worth Planning Lawyer
You worked hard to ensure prosperity for the future generations of your family. Don’t risk leaving it up to chance by failing to make an estate plan.
At the Law Office of David S. Schleiffarth, we understand that high-net-worth individuals in Missouri have a unique set of estate planning needs. Our legal experts cater each estate plan to fit the distinct financial goals of our clients and maximize wealth retention.
Ready to take control of your financial future? Give us a call at (314) 448-0527 to explore how our law firm can help you make the most out of your estate plan and protect your family’s finances for years to come.
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