High Net Worth Estate Planning in New Jersey and Pennsylvania

You work hard for your money. When the time comes to pass your assets along to your loved ones, you want to minimize tax consequences, provide for your heirs, control who runs your business, and more. Our team understands that high net worth individuals face specific issues when it comes to estate planning. We’re here to help you navigate the complexities of your estate planning process with confidence.

Experienced High Net Worth Attorneys Serving NJ and PA

At Bratton Law Group, we offer superior legal counsel to clients looking to protect their considerable assets for future generations. Our attorneys understand the particular complexities of assisting high-net-worth individuals and can anticipate potential problems before they arise. From our offices in New Jersey and Philadelphia, we offer a client-centered experience focused on achieving the best possible outcomes.

Contact our office at 856 770 2744 to speak with a high-net-worth estate planning attorney today!

Components of High-Asset Estate Planning

Estate planning is a complicated process regardless of your financial position. For individuals with a greater number of assets or whose assets have a high monetary value, that process may become even more complex. At Bratton Law Group, our lawyers for high-net-worth individuals advise clients about:

Taxes – including federal, NJ, and PA estate, inheritance, and fiduciary taxes.
Business Succession Planning – Ensure proper control and transfer of your business interests, whether you’re a sole proprietor, partner, or shareholder.
Asset Protection – Especially important for high-risk professionals and high-net-worth individuals, asset protection strategies can shield wealth from future liability.

Options for Protecting High-Net-Worth Assets and Reducing Tax Implications

We have expertise in a wide variety of estate planning tools designed to ensure that individuals of significant means are protected. We ensure your wishes regarding the disposition of assets are carried out as intended. Talk to us about:

Wills:

A properly drafted will can take care of tax, succession, value, and other high-asset issues.

Gifting:

Current laws allow you to provide gifts to your children and others without tax consequences, with limits. There are limits for each year you give gifts and there are also lifetime limits.

Trusts:

There are many types of trusts that will ensure your chosen beneficiaries receive what you put aside for them. Common trusts used during high-asset estate planning may include:

Qualified Personal Residence Trusts: These allow you to transfer your house to a trust. You keep the right to live in the house for a specific amount of time until which time the house is transferred legally to your beneficiary. Your estate taxes will be reduced, and you will be able to protect your estate from creditors.
Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts: While proceeds from a life insurance policy don’t directly pass through your estate, there are tax consequences. An irrevocable life insurance trust is an estate tax-saving device.
Credit Shelter Trusts: These types of trusts are created to maximize each person’s exemption amount in order to reduce taxes. They offer innumerable benefits to married couples who wish to protect one another should one spouse pass away before the other.
Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts: The name seems counterintuitive, but in some cases, this is a valuable tool that can be used to reduce your taxable estate and protect assets from unforeseen expenses. The intentionally defective grantor trust is drafted in such a way that ensures income tax laws won’t recognize that assets are no longer owned by the person paying taxes.
Asset Protection Trusts: When set up and funded properly, these trusts offer the benefit of protecting assets in favorable jurisdictions.

Schedule a consultation with our high-net-worth estate planning attorneys!

You May Want to Consider a Family Limited Partnership

A Family Limited Partnership (FLP) or Limited Liability Company (LLC) are other options for making sure family members receive their designated portion of your estate after your death while allowing you to reduce your own tax liability through effective tax planning. By creating an FLP or LLC, you give away some of the value of an asset, such as a business or stock. In this situation, you keep control (i.e., general partnership interest) while the beneficiary gets a financial interest (i.e., Limited partnership interest).

There are complex requirements involved in creating an FLP. Speak to an experienced attorney at Bratton Law Group who can explain your options and draft the documents you decide are in your best financial interest.

Schedule a Consultation With a High Net Worth Attorney

If you’re ready to protect your legacy, our high-net-worth estate planning attorneys can help you take the right next step.

Call 856 770 2744 or fill out our convenient online form.