Estate Strategies
Sterling analyzes 24 Estate topics against every household.
| Topic | What it does |
|---|---|
| 529 Plans for the Family | Take advantage of potential state income tax savings and tax free growth while saving for educaitonal goals. |
| AB Trust | Evaluate an AB Trust structure for married couples whose combined estate exceeds the applicable exemption thresholds to preserve lifetime exclusions. |
| Account Titling for Charities | Match pre-tax retirement assets to charity and step-up-eligible taxable assets to heirs so the household's charitable intent is funded with the most tax-efficient dollars. |
| Advance Medical Directive | Confirm whether the household has executed an Advance Medical Directive and recommend creating or refreshing one as needed. |
| Annual Gift Exclusion | Use the federal annual gift-tax exclusion to gift to family members each year, reducing the household's taxable estate without consuming the lifetime exemption. |
| Beneficiaries — Investment Accounts | Audit primary and contingent beneficiary designations on every investment account so account-level designations align with the will, trust, marital status, minor children, and charitable intent. |
| Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust | Evaluate a one-time CRAT funded with appreciated assets to produce a partial income-tax deduction, a fixed lifetime annuity, and a remainder to charity. |
| Cross-Generational Roth Strategy | A backdoor way for adult children to contribute beyond normal Roth limits via gifting to their parents to pay for the parent's Roth Conversions. |
| Dissolve Irrevocable Trust | Review existing irrevocable trusts to confirm they still serve their original purpose; modification, decanting, or non-judicial settlement may simplify the estate plan when circumstances have changed. |
| Dissolve Revocable Trust | Evaluate whether a revocable living trust still provides sufficient benefit (probate avoidance, privacy) versus administrative cost; recommend dissolution when the math no longer works. |
| Generation-Skipping Transfer | Use the GST exemption to fund dynasty or generation-skipping trusts that avoid a second layer of transfer tax at the children's generation. |
| Gifting for Step-Ups | Gift low-basis appreciated assets to a parent or grandparent so they receive a date-of-death basis step-up and pass back to the household, or down to the next generation, free of the accumulated capital gain. |
| Grantor Retained Annuity Trust | Transfer asset appreciation to heirs through a GRAT — a finite-term trust that pays the grantor a fixed annuity and passes residual appreciation to remainder beneficiaries. |
| Inherited Asset Step-Up in Cost Basis | Verify each inherited taxable asset received the proper basis step-up to date-of-death value; correct any positions where the decedent's original basis was carried forward in error. |
| Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust | Use an ILIT to own life-insurance policies so the death benefit passes to heirs outside the taxable estate. |
| Letter of Instruction | Confirm whether the household has a Letter of Instruction supplementing the will, and recommend creating or refreshing one as needed. |
| Life Insurance Beneficiaries | Audit each life insurance policy's primary and contingent beneficiaries against the household's current family circumstances and recommend updates where the chain is outdated or misaligned. |
| Power of Attorney | Confirm whether the household has executed a durable financial Power of Attorney and recommend creating or refreshing one as needed. |
| Special Supplemental Care Trust | Use a Special Needs Trust to receive inheritances and gifts for a disabled family member without disqualifying them from means-tested government benefits. |
| Spousal Lifetime Access Trust | Use a SLAT to move assets out of one spouse's estate while preserving indirect access through distributions to the beneficiary spouse, locking in lifetime exemption while it remains high. |
| Step-Up Optimization for Surviving Spouse | Reposition asset titling between spouses so the highest-appreciation positions receive the largest basis step-up at the first death. |
| Trust(s) for Minor Beneficiaries | Use trust structures to protect inheritances for minor beneficiaries instead of letting funds pass outright at age of majority, where mismanagement risk is highest. |
| Trust(s) for Real Estate | Use trust and LLC structures to avoid probate (especially ancillary probate in multiple states) and provide liability protection on rental real estate. |
| Will Accuracy | Confirm each adult household member has an executed and current will, and recommend updating any will that is missing or meaningfully out of date. |