Anyone with property, a car, a bank, or a retirement account has a certain amount of wealth they can build or preserve through a smart estate plan. In the next few years, individuals creating or updating an estate plan will benefit from a different approach to goals, assets and strategies. Economic concerns, changing tax rules and the looming extinction of social security, among other things, are changing future needs, investment timelines and where estate planning falls in our priorities.

Today's estate planning shoulders an individual's lofty goals for retirement, tax mitigation, advance care support and transferring the bulk of their wealth to heirs after death. A balanced portfolio includes aggressive investments and higher-return instruments to help meet longer-term goals, while safer investments, like bond funds or Roth IRAs, help meet short-term goals. We'll discuss evolving goals in estate planning and different strategies to help meet your future needs, referencing Charles Schwab's article, "2024 Planning and Wealth Management Outlook."

Why Plan for Short and Long-Term Future Needs?

Whether retirement, senior care, or wealth preservation for heirs, strategic asset allocation and estate planning strategies hinge on carefully considering future financial needs. Today's volatile markets spotlight financial questions of how much and when you'll need to fund retirement to senior living and the time in between, while preserving wealth for beneficiaries.

Arriving at How Much Money You Need for Retirement - It's Complicated

Retirement planning is a pivotal aspect of estate planning and wealth management, necessitating a personalized approach tailored to individual circumstances. Pinpointing the money that you'll need in retirement is a tangled calculation. That magical number must account for taxes, lifestyle expenses and medical needs, depending on current or future health.

Financial advisors and estate planning attorneys help look beyond the less accurate benchmarks of the past and consider investments and strategies to maximize wealth building and minimize erosion.

Why Tax Planning in Estate Planning Is Second Nature

Taxes can erode wealth as you build it or decrease the wealth passed to your beneficiaries. Changing tax rules makes it harder to choose the right tax management strategy. Consider pairing a tax-advantaged traditional individual retirement account (IRA), Roth IRA, or qualified account, like a 401 (k), with taxable brokerage accounts and income-generating investments. A mix of estate assets can reduce or delay taxes and take some guesswork out of tax management.

Key Estate Planning and Investment Management Takeaways:

• Estate Planning: Today's estate planning addresses retirement, tax mitigation, advance care support and transferring wealth to heirs after death.
• Multiple Timelines: A balanced portfolio meets shorter and longer goals.
• Managing Your Taxes: Using varied tax-management strategies can maximize wealth building and transfer.

Conclusion

Adopt a strategic outlook to align strategies for short-term volatility and meet long-term financial objectives. Pinpoint time horizons in your estate planning to personalize retirement needs and manage taxes. By working with our estate planning office, we can help you adopt a strategic approach that reaches beyond short-term uncertainties and embraces a holistic strategy.  Contact us today to discuss estate and wealth planning tailored to your unique needs.

Reference: Charles Schwab (Dec. 20, 2023) “2024 Planning and Wealth Management Outlook.”