Outside of the specific practice areas of estate planning, elder law planning
and tax planning, our clients look to us as a source of information for
general financial planning and asset protection. As attorneys, we do not give any
investment advice nor do we claim any investment expertise. However, we do
have the skills and knowledge to explain and crate appropriate vehicles thru
which you can make various investments. To assist you in meeting
your financial goals, our attorneys and staff work as part of a team that
includes your accountant, investment advisor and insurance advisor.
Financing a college education has become a family affair. Grandparents
look to assist parents, and parents involve children in the role financing plays
in the college selection process. Many tax deferred vehicles have been
created to assist with college savings, such as 529 Plans, Educational IRA's and
the Hope Credit. Together with these newer vehicles are more traditional
college savings options, such as trusts and Uniform Transfer to Minor's
Accounts. We are able to help our clients objectively evaluate the
benefits and restrictions of different college savings vehicles, and
incorporate a client's college savings goals into an overall asset protection
and gifting strategy.
Regardless of other savings needs, you cannot afford to overlook the need to
plan for your own retirement. As part of a comprehensive estate plan, we
assist our clients who have employer sponsored benefits, such as pension plans
and 401k plans, in making the appropriate elections and beneficiary designations
to meet their goals. For those clients who can demand more from their
retirement plan, such as business owners and key employees, we help them find
ways to maximize their retirement dollars through options such as qualified
plans, deferred compensation, split-dollar life insurance, and business
liquidation plans.
Once a person has accumulated savings and wealth, a fundamental financial planning priority is to protect
assets from creditors. This is of particular importance to entrepreneurs,
small business owners, and professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and
accountants. Asset protection should also be a priority for anyone who transfers assets to children or grandchildren.
Unless advance planning is done, assets given away become at risk to the
tranferee's creditors, such as a former spouse or business partner. We assist our clients in developing true
asset protection strategies that are tailored to their individual situation,
incorporate devices such as limited liability companies and on-shore and
off-shore trusts, and steer clear of fraudulent transfer issues and illegal tax
schemes.
We encourage you to visit our Library,
where you will find articles, FAQ's, tools and links of interest to those with
financial planning concerns.
To find out about more about how we can assist you in
meet your financial and asset protection goals, please contact Deirdre R.
Wheatley-Liss,
Shareholder, of our Tax, Trusts and Estates and Elder Law Department to
see how we can meet your personal needs.
