Estate Planning Basics: Working with a Family Office
Markdale Financial Management is our family office dedicated to managing the financial affairs of wealthy investors. One of our key roles of our family office is to coordinate the work of investment and insurance, legal, and accounting professionals when it comes to estate planning.
In this blog post, we’ll explore how our family office serves as the quarterback and personal CFO of a wealthy person’s financial affairs and provide specific examples of how we can coordinate the work of different estate planning professionals.
Coordinate Meetings
One of the primary roles of a family office when it comes to estate planning is coordinating meetings between different professionals, including investment and insurance advisors, lawyers, and accountants. Our family office can help schedule meetings, send reminders, and ensure that all necessary parties are present. By coordinating these meetings, the family office can help ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals. It also relieves our clients from the administrative burden such as scheduling, hosting meetings or zooms, documenting, and agenda setting.
Note Taking
During estate planning meetings, our family office can also take notes to ensure that all important information is captured. These notes can be shared with all relevant parties to ensure that everyone has the same understanding of the estate plan. This can help prevent misunderstandings and ensure that the plan is executed as intended.
Asking Questions and Providing Documentation
Another important role of our family office is to ask questions from our team of professionals (accountants, lawyers, investment & insurance advisors) and provide documentation to support their work. For example, if an accountant needs documentation related to a specific holding company, our family office can provide that documentation in a timely manner. Similarly, if a legal professional has questions about the family dynamic, our family office can describe the emotional motivation of the estate plan.
Being a Sounding Board
After meetings with professionals are held, our family office can serve as a sounding board for the wealthy person or their family members in a safe space. We can help ensure that everyone understands the plan and address any questions or concerns that may arise. This can help ensure that the plan is executed as intended and that everyone involved feels comfortable with the decisions that have been made.
Determining the Emotional Side of Estate Planning
In addition to coordinating the work of different professionals, our family office can also help support the emotional side of estate planning. As close advisors, we may have a unique understanding of the personal relationships involved in a family and can help ensure that their estate plan reflects the individual’s wishes and meets the needs of various family members who might not be vocal themselves.
For example, our family office may be aware of specific family dynamics that should be considered when developing an estate plan. We can help ensure that the plan is structured in a way that minimizes the potential for disputes or conflicts among family members. We may also be able to provide guidance on how to address any emotional or personal issues that may arise during the estate planning process.
Here are some additional tips for crafting your estate plan:
Identify Your Goals and Objectives
Answer such questions as:
- Who do you want to benefit from your wealth after you’re gone?
- What are your philanthropic goals?
- How do you want to structure your estate plan to minimize taxes?
Bring together various professionals
Crafting a successful estate plan including bringing together various professionals such as lawyers, accountants, investment & insurance advisors. Each of these professionals has expertise and they can be most affective when they work as a team. Our family office works hard to bring together various legal, tax, investment, and insurance professionals so that your estate plan is crafted in a thoughtful way that will reflect your wishes.
Our Family Office
In conclusion, estate planning is a complex process that requires coordination among various professionals, including investment and insurance advisors, lawyers, and accountants. As a family office, Markdale Financial Management serves as the quarterback and personal CFO for our client’s financial affairs by coordinating the work of these professionals.
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