While retirement plan advisers are not estate planning professionals, per se, the “great wealth transfer” has pushed plan advisers farther into the conversation. As $124 trillion stands on the precipice of transfer by 2048, advisers are increasingly guiding clients through processes like writing wills, setting up trusts and arranging charitable donations.
However, with estate planning products rapidly evolving, advisers will need to master how certain evolutions and practices could affect clients in transferring wealth.
For example, Will O’Rourke, a financial adviser at Prime Capital Financial and an estate planning attorney, says advisers should become more familiar with the tax considerations of estate planning.
“Advisers need to get clued in on estate taxes [and] inheritance taxes. … There are federal inheritance taxes, and then there are state level inheritance taxes,” O’Rourke says. “[But] estate taxes are not a problem for a lot of people. You’ve got to be approaching the $15 million-net-worth mark.”
O’Rourke also stresses the importance of understanding the differences between how irrevocable and revocable trusts are taxed.
Want to read the full article? Check it out here.
