There are so many tools for helping high net worth families that it would be pointless to list them here. Only a few would be applicable to you. What is useful is to say something about the process.

Planning for high net worth families requires learning about you and your family, what you own and how you own it. Do you want to leave a legacy? Do you want it to last from generation to generation? Does charity fit into your planning? What is your comfort level for complexity? What is your comfort level for professional fees? Are you willing to work with all professionals as a team including your CPA, your financial advisor, an appraiser, your insurance agent, etc.

A plan for high net worth families occurs in stages. First we explore your goals and desires for yourself and your family. Then we arrive at what we call a Diagnostic. the Diagnostic identifies where you currently stand in relation to your goals so we can focus and prioritize the outstanding unresolved issues.

The Diagnostic also includes a prognosis as to what would happen if the current plan was left unchanged upon your eventual death. We compare this with what you would like it to look like based on what you have shared with us.

Once we arrive at and agree to the correct diagnosis, we then work together to reach a proposed design for your wealth and your family. The design may be relatively simple or very complex depending on the values we explored and uncovered during the diagnostic process. Upon presenting the design there is a period to digest it, comment upon it, and obtain the input from your other advisors.

Not until you are comfortable with the design as modified by this process do we begin to prepare documents. Once the documents are prepared and executed we move on to the critical stage of implementation.

Implementation has several characteristics. If we established a life insurance trust we need to follow through by either moving an existing policy into the trust or buying new coverage. If we established a Family Limited Partnership then we need to re-title the assets that will be included in the entity. If gifting is involved then we need to set a schedule for how the gifts will be made, when, and which assets to use.

For example, if you want to retain control over the gifted asset then this can be accomplished by giving your children certificates of interest as limited partners. Since the general partner controls the partnership, no matter how many units of the limited partnership you give to your children you will retain control over the entity.

Finally, once the plan has been diagnosed, designed, implemented, and funded, it still needs to be maintained. Annual reviews are advisable especially if the plan calls for annual gifting to move assets out of your taxable estate.

In summary, the estate plan for the high net worth family is a process that takes time, diligence, and the involvement of all of your trusted advisors. The quarterback of that team is your estate planning attorney.