Estate Planning

Protect your assets and secure your legacy with our comprehensive estate planning services.

Securing Your Legacy

Estate planning is about more than just distributing assets—it's about ensuring your wishes are honored, minimizing taxes, protecting your loved ones, and creating a lasting legacy. At BlueRock Asset Management, our estate planning experts work with you to develop a comprehensive strategy tailored to your unique circumstances and goals.

Asset Protection

Safeguard your assets from creditors, lawsuits, and excessive taxation through strategic legal structures and planning techniques.

Family Security

Ensure your loved ones are provided for according to your wishes, with provisions for minors, dependents with special needs, and future generations.

Legacy Planning

Create a meaningful legacy through charitable giving strategies, family foundations, and values-based wealth transfer plans.

Tax Efficiency

Minimize estate, gift, and income taxes through strategic planning, ensuring more of your wealth passes to your beneficiaries.

Our Estate Planning Services

Will and Trust Creation

Will & Trust Creation

We work with experienced estate attorneys to develop comprehensive wills and trusts tailored to your specific needs, ensuring your assets are distributed according to your wishes while minimizing probate and maximizing privacy.

Advanced Directives

Advanced Directives

Our estate planning services include the creation of essential documents such as powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and living wills to ensure your wishes are honored if you become incapacitated.

Tax Planning

Estate Tax Planning

We implement sophisticated strategies to minimize estate and gift taxes, including annual gifting programs, irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), and other tax-efficient wealth transfer techniques.

Business Succession

Business Succession Planning

For business owners, we develop comprehensive succession plans that ensure a smooth transition of ownership and management, preserve business value, and provide liquidity for estate taxes and other expenses.

Charitable Planning

Charitable Planning

We help you create a meaningful philanthropic legacy through donor-advised funds, charitable remainder trusts, private foundations, and other charitable giving strategies that align with your values while providing tax benefits.

Digital Asset Planning

Digital Asset Planning

Our modern estate planning approach includes provisions for digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, online accounts, intellectual property, and digital content, ensuring these valuable assets are properly managed and transferred.

Our Estate Planning Process

1

Discovery

We begin with a comprehensive assessment of your assets, family dynamics, goals, and concerns to understand your unique estate planning needs.

2

Strategy Development

Our estate planning experts collaborate with tax and legal professionals to create a customized estate plan that addresses your specific objectives.

3

Implementation

We coordinate with your legal team to draft and execute all necessary documents, establish trusts, and properly title assets to align with your estate plan.

4

Communication

We help facilitate family discussions about your estate plan, ensuring key stakeholders understand their roles and your intentions.

5

Regular Review

We conduct periodic reviews of your estate plan to ensure it remains aligned with your goals and adapts to changes in your life, family, assets, and tax laws.

Key Estate Planning Considerations

When to Update Your Estate Plan

Your estate plan should be reviewed and potentially updated when:

  • Family Changes: Marriage, divorce, births, deaths, or adoptions
  • Asset Changes: Significant increases or decreases in wealth
  • Business Changes: Starting, buying, or selling a business
  • Relocation: Moving to a different state or country
  • Tax Law Changes: Updates to estate, gift, or income tax laws
  • Health Changes: Significant changes in health status
  • Beneficiary Changes: Changes in intended beneficiaries
  • Regular Review: At least every 3-5 years

Essential Estate Planning Documents

A comprehensive estate plan typically includes:

  • Last Will and Testament: Directs the distribution of assets and names guardians for minor children
  • Revocable Living Trust: Manages assets during life and after death, avoiding probate
  • Durable Power of Attorney: Appoints someone to manage financial affairs if you're incapacitated
  • Healthcare Power of Attorney: Designates someone to make medical decisions if you cannot
  • Living Will/Advance Directive: Specifies your wishes for end-of-life care
  • HIPAA Authorization: Allows specified individuals to access your medical information
  • Letter of Intent: Provides guidance on personal wishes not covered in legal documents
  • Digital Asset Inventory: Lists online accounts, passwords, and instructions

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an estate plan if I don't have significant wealth?

Yes, estate planning is important regardless of your wealth level. Even with modest assets, an estate plan ensures your wishes are honored, provides for your loved ones, designates guardians for minor children, and specifies healthcare preferences if you become incapacitated. Without proper planning, state laws will determine how your assets are distributed, which may not align with your wishes.

What's the difference between a will and a trust?

A will is a legal document that specifies how you want your assets distributed after death and names guardians for minor children. It becomes effective only after death and must go through probate, which is a public court process.

A trust is a legal arrangement where a trustee holds and manages assets for beneficiaries. A revocable living trust becomes effective immediately, can manage assets during incapacity, avoids probate, and provides privacy. Trusts can also include more complex provisions for asset protection and tax planning.

How do I include digital assets in my estate plan?

Digital asset planning involves several key steps:

  1. Create a comprehensive inventory of your digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, online accounts, domains, and digital content
  2. Document access information securely, including account details, usernames, and passwords
  3. Include specific provisions in your will or trust authorizing your executor or trustee to access and manage digital assets
  4. Consider using a digital asset management service to securely store access information
  5. For cryptocurrency holdings, implement secure transfer mechanisms such as multi-signature wallets or "dead man's switch" protocols
  6. Review and update your digital asset inventory regularly as accounts change

Our estate planning team specializes in digital asset protection and can help ensure these valuable assets are properly included in your estate plan.

How can I minimize estate taxes?

Several strategies can help minimize estate taxes:

  • Annual Gifting: Make use of the annual gift tax exclusion ($17,000 per recipient in 2023)
  • Lifetime Gift Tax Exemption: Utilize your lifetime exemption for larger gifts
  • Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT): Remove life insurance proceeds from your taxable estate
  • Charitable Giving: Reduce your taxable estate through charitable donations, charitable remainder trusts, or donor-advised funds
  • Family Limited Partnerships: Transfer assets while maintaining control and potentially applying valuation discounts
  • Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT): Transfer your home to beneficiaries at a reduced gift tax value
  • Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT): Transfer appreciation on assets with minimal gift tax impact

The optimal strategy depends on your specific situation, goals, and the current tax laws. Our estate planning team works closely with tax professionals to develop tax-efficient strategies tailored to your needs.

How do I ensure my estate plan works with my cryptocurrency investments?

Cryptocurrency presents unique estate planning challenges due to its digital nature, security requirements, and evolving regulatory landscape. To properly include cryptocurrency in your estate plan:

  • Document all cryptocurrency holdings, including types, amounts, and wallet locations
  • Create secure instructions for accessing private keys and recovery phrases
  • Consider using a qualified custodian or multi-signature wallet that allows for succession planning
  • Include specific language in your estate documents authorizing fiduciaries to manage cryptocurrency assets
  • Develop a tax strategy for cryptocurrency inheritance, as beneficiaries will need guidance on cost basis and tax implications
  • Consider setting up a cryptocurrency trust specifically designed to hold and manage these digital assets

BlueRock Asset Management has specialized expertise in cryptocurrency estate planning and can help ensure your digital assets are properly protected and transferred according to your wishes.

Ready to Secure Your Legacy?

Our estate planning experts can help you create a comprehensive plan to protect your assets and provide for your loved ones.

Schedule a Free Consultation