Dealing with the death of a loved one can be hard for New York families under the best of circumstances. However, issues with an estate plan can cause even more emotional and financial hardship for the family, especially if the deceased leaves behind a large estate.
What’s a high-net-worth estate?
An estate that’s worth $30 million or more is considered high-net-worth. Estate planning for a large or high-net-worth estate plan comes with its own sets of challenges, many of them due to things like estate taxes or probate law state by state.
Common roadblocks for estate plans
Problems commonly faced by high-net-worth estates come down to how the deceased designated their funds while alive. The investments they made, and how they kept track of their finances and accounts, all factor into the complexity of estate management.
Sometimes a person might use different financial advisors for different assets: One example is hiring an advisor for retirement assets while another professional manages an investment portfolio. While this is good in theory, if these financial advisors aren’t working together, it can cause complications when your executor attempts to decipher your estate plan.
You also have to consider who’s acting as trustee or executor of the trusts and estate plan. Picking the right person to carry out your wishes and manage your assets after your death can be tricky, and it’s one of the hardest challenges facing high-net-worth estates.
Biggest take aways
It’s important to ensure that your high-net-worth estate plan is reviewed and updated regularly. Going the extra mile to ensure your estate plan covers all the bases will save your family a lot of money and heartache after you’re gone.