Death and taxes may be inevitable, but estate planners say families often can reduce how long an estate sits in probate and how much heirs lose to taxes and legal fees by making targeted choices before they die. In guidance that emphasizes planning steps used widely by people with more assets, attorneys and online estate-planning experts also say the tools can apply to middle-income families because probate delays and fee drag can hit estates of many sizes.
Mark Bosler, an estate planning attorney in Troy, Michigan, and legal adviser to Real Estate Bees, compared wealthy estate planning to an extended strategy: “It’s a strategic game of chess played over decades,” he said. Bosler’s point, as described in the report, is that the wealthy often use trusts and other mechanisms to move assets to heirs more efficiently while reducing how much money reaches government tax agencies.
The article stresses that misunderstanding can start with the idea that everyone faces estate taxes. It says that, despite broad misconceptions, only the very richest Americans are generally subject to taxes, with federal estate taxes typically triggered for estates over $15 million and with some states and the District of Columbia collecting estate or inheritance taxes at thresholds that still target millionaires.
Even when taxes are not the main issue, the report says estates can still get tied up in probate court, where fees are often assessed based on the estate’s value. Renee Fry, CEO of Gentreo, an online estate planner based in Quincy, Massachusetts, said attorneys and courts can consume assets that might otherwise go to children or loved ones and that “Anywhere from 3 to 8% of an estate might be lost.”
Trusts can be central to the designs many estate planners describe. The article says trusts can be relatively simple tools for families—including a retired couple with a paid-off house, 401(k)s, and a portfolio of investments—that can help ease passing assets to heirs. It also says trusts can reduce the likelihood that details are kept in public records and can be used for planning around future long-term care, including Medicaid qualification decisions that some people prefer over paying for nursing home care themselves.
Another strategy described focuses on inheriting investment gains with less tax exposure. The report asks readers to consider stocks such as shares of Nvidia—an example used to illustrate how long-held stock can grow—and describes a “step-up” rule that can let heirs sell with less tax because gains are calculated from the day the owner died rather than the day the shares were originally bought.
Benjamin Trujillo, a partner with the wealth advisory firm Moneta in St. Louis, Missouri, described the effect as counterintuitive but legal, saying it can seem “like a magic trick.” In the same portion of the report, Trujillo said, “Wealth transfer looks like smoke and mirrors,” adding that assets like stocks can quietly grow for decades and that, when inherited, the “tax bill often disappears.” The report notes that lawmakers have at times proposed limits to the “step-up” rule but says it remains in place for now and that the approach can apply to other types of investments, including artwork, real estate and collectibles.
The article also directs attention to a step that can be simpler than setting up trusts: updating beneficiary designations. It says estate planners describe account prompts that ask people to name beneficiaries as more than a routine notification, and it says that, while regulations vary, many banks and brokerages let account holders name a beneficiary to receive funds upon death.
Allison Harrison, an attorney in Columbus, Ohio, who focuses on estate planning, said: “One of the easiest ways to transfer assets hassle-free.” The report also explains why the task matters: it says beneficiary designations generally override wills, making it important to keep beneficiaries up to date so assets do not end up with an ex-spouse or another unintended recipient.
The report ties the advice together with the idea that planning requires time, but can reduce friction later. It says experts characterize wealthy families as planning in advance—rather than leaving assets and decisions unprotected—and it closes with Fry saying, “Wealthy families plan,” and that they “don’t leave assets and decisions unprotected.”