Accumulate, Conserve & Enjoy Assets
Estate tax planning strategies are an important part of a person’s legacy left to family, friends, business associates, or favorite charities. A Windes will and trust accountant understands that planning for your will or trust and the distribution of your estate following a death is only one aspect of estate planning. Equally important is planning for the accumulation, conservation, and enjoyment of your property and assets during your lifetime.
Estate, will and trust accountants at Windes can assist you with wealth management and conservation of your estate by minimizing estate tax liabilities. Our estate tax planning process focuses on the preservation of wealth and the interrelationship of the estate, fiduciary, and personal taxes. When you work with our team, you receive personalized service that focuses on developing the best estate, will, and trust plan for you.
Complete estate tax planning and wealth management services
- Preparation of federal estate tax returns
- Preparation of estate and trust income tax returns
- Postmortem tax planning
- Assistance to a surviving spouse or other heirs
- Review of current wills, trust instruments, and schedules of assets
- Identification of family objectives and needs regarding wealth preservation
- Estimation of estate taxes under current estate plans
- The strategy of various alternatives to current estate plans and calculation of potential tax savings
- Examination of privately held business concerns, including valuations, alternative methods of paying estate tax, and transfer and/or disposition of business interests
- Planning for assets with unique estate tax attributes, including retirement plans and life insurance
- Identification of potential liquidity problems caused by federal and state estate taxes, generation-skipping transfer tax, debts, cash bequests, necessary funds for the continued operation of a family business, probate, and administration costs, etc.
- Development of a lifetime gift program utilizing appropriate vehicles, such as family limited partnerships (FLPs), limited liability companies (LLCs), charitable trusts, life insurance trusts, and qualified personal residence trusts
- Assistance in communicating and discussing your plan with your family to ensure there is a mutual understanding and commitment to your plan
- Ensuring the proper implementation and administration of the estate plan
We are unique among Southern California accounting firms in our expertise and knowledge of estate and trust planning. Our estate and trust specialists have been called upon to give presentations at various tax and estate and trust seminars and have authored numerous articles for local tax publications. We are active in several local organizations for estate and trust professionals that focus on planned giving. We can offer a large client referral network, which includes trust companies, attorneys, accountants, financial planners, and chartered life underwriters.
Do not risk losing a large portion of the estate through taxes. Let the experienced accountants at Windes help you create an estate tax plan in Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Orange County that provides security for your family and leaves a legacy for your future generations.
