Client Services

Life Planning & Wealth Preservation

LifePlan™ Protection

     The most common reason for creating a living trust is the desire to ensure that you and your loved ones will be provided for physically, emotionally and financially. A well-drafted estate plan will ensure that your estate passes to whom you want and when you want, will be administered in the manner you have chosen if you are disabled or upon your passing, and at the least cost.

Advanced Estate Planning

     Many estates require more than a basic will or living trust. Depending upon your circumstances and desires, there are options available to help enhance and maintain your estate and maximize its value for you and your family.

Asset Protection

     Reducing risk and promoting peace of mind is accomplished through the use of various entities and techniques in appropriate combinations. Families and individuals can protect their assets from creditors and predators, which significantly reduce taxes upon the transfer of assets.

Wealth Preservation

     Lawsuits, estate contests, taxes, divorce, mismanagement, and loss of control can all have a dramatic impact upon your estate. Properly structured entities and provisions in your estate plan can insulate you from these risks.

Charitable Giving

     Americans are among the most generous givers on the planet. The availability of tax breaks is a significant motivator. Various vehicles combine current charitable income tax deductions and future estate tax deductions with the opportunity to avoid capital gains and provide a source of increased income.

Special Needs

     Many families may think they have a plan in place that will provide for their loved ones with a disability, but if that plan does not include a special needs trust, it may not provide the protection they expect. A good estate plan has provisions for a special needs trust if it becomes necessary.

Retirement Planning

     The value of a retirement plan has greatly increased during the last two decades. The tax deferred growth available with an IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or other retirement assets, offers a tremendous financial benefit. However, these assets must be carefully coordinated with your overall estate plan. Proper planning enables retirement account owners to maximize benefits to heirs and maintain control of future distributions using a "qualified" trust under code section 401(a) (9).

Business Planning

     American entrepreneurs have discovered that wise business planning is essential to their success today and their financial security tomorrow. There are several types of business entities available. When developing a strategy to maximize your success, it is essential to create the right type of entity that will allow you to reach your business goals and objectives.

Business Exit and Succession Planning

     A successful business plan includes provisions for continuity. Business owners need to be aware of the consequences of failing to properly plan for the transition of the ownership from the senior generation to either third-parties or to junior generations. Business succession includes employing strategies now to maximize the value of your own business when you are ready to leave it. We use a systematic approach that integrates techniques such as confidentiality agreements, employee incentive plans, deferred compensation plans, stock options, phantom stock options, and buy-sell agreements designed to protect your business and allow you to leave it in style.

Trust Administration & Probate

Trust Administration

     The passing of a loved one is an exceptionally trying time. It is, however, is necessary to properly administer the decedent's affairs within a legally required time period. It is important to remember that there is a definite process to follow and that there are resources to assist you.

Probate

     If probate becomes necessary, the process can be less burdensome for a well-prepared individual. Engaging a qualified estate planning attorney with experience in probate issues will enable you to take pre-emptive steps to minimize taxes and legal wrangling for your personal representative and family.

LifePlan™ Maintenance Services

     Your personal, family, and financial situation is constantly changing, and so are estate planning techniques and laws. Your financial professionals are making use of new tools and techniques as they gain experience and expertise in their fields. Your estate plan must be periodically updated to reflect these changes. Terri E. Hilliard, PC offers LifePlan™ Maintenance Services, a maintenance program designed to keep your estate plan current. For a nominal yearly fee, the following services are provided:

• Telephone assistance transferring assets into your trust throughout the life of your trust;
• Annual review of trust and assets;
• Maintenance amendments at any time due to personal changes, at no additional charge;
• Trust updates required by changes in the law;
• Membership to Legal Directives, an electronic storage and access service for advance health care directives.