Estate
Planning
Preserve and transfer your wealth with precision. Our estate tax strategies protect your legacy for generations to come.
Estate work is the tax side of a transfer: what is owed when wealth moves to the next generation, what can be planned before it does, and the returns an estate or trust must file afterward. We work alongside your estate attorney and financial advisor. We do not draft wills or trusts.
The Scope
What the work
covers
Gift tax returns
Form 709 for gifts above the annual exclusion, with a running record of how much of your lifetime exemption has been used.
Estate tax returns and portability
Form 706 for estates that must file, and for surviving spouses who elect portability to preserve a deceased spouse's unused exemption.
Trust and estate income tax returns
Form 1041 for estates and trusts, with the Schedule K-1s that report income to beneficiaries.
A decedent's final return
The final Form 1040 for the year of death, and any earlier returns that were left unfiled.
Basis records for inherited assets
Documentation of date-of-death values, so heirs report the correct basis when they later sell.
Transfer planning across years
Projections that map the tax effect of gifts, trusts and sales over time, prepared for discussion with your attorney.
State estate and inheritance taxes
A review of the state taxes that may apply where you or your property are located. Florida has no state estate or inheritance tax; several other states do.
Your engagement letter sets the exact scope. The descriptions on this page are general information, not tax advice for your situation.
The Client
Who it is for
- Executors and personal representatives settling an estate
- Trustees responsible for a trust's annual return
- Surviving spouses deciding whether to elect portability
- Families making gifts to children and grandchildren
- Heirs who inherited property and need its basis documented
The Engagement
How an engagement
works
Five steps, the same for every client. Your documents never travel by email, and nothing is filed until you have reviewed and signed.
Consultation
We map the family, the assets and the documents already in place, and confirm which returns and projections are in scope.
Documents through the secure portal
You or your attorney upload trust instruments, valuations and statements to your secure portal.
Preparation
Your preparer prepares the returns and projections in our professional tax software and coordinates with your attorney where the work meets.
Review
Everything is reviewed before it reaches you, and we walk the family or the fiduciary through the figures.
Signature
The executor, trustee or donor signs, the returns are filed, and their status stays visible in the portal.
Documents to gather
Upload them in your secure client portal once we begin, from a phone camera or a computer. Please never send tax documents by email.
- The death certificate, for an estate
- Copies of the will, trust agreements and any amendments
- Appraisals and date-of-death statements for accounts and property
- Prior gift tax returns (Form 709)
- The decedent's last two years of income tax returns
- The EIN letter for the estate or trust
- 1099s and statements issued to the estate or trust after the date of death
The Service Ledger
Corporate Tax
Strategic corporate tax planning that optimizes your business structure, minimizes liabilities, and ensures full compliance with evolving regulations.
Consult strategyPersonal Tax
Comprehensive individual tax strategies tailored to your unique financial landscape, from income optimization to deduction maximization.
Consult strategyTax Advisory
Proactive advisory services that anticipate regulatory changes and position your finances ahead of the curve, not behind it.
Consult strategy
Begin Today
Begin with a
Consultation
Tell us where you stand and what you want to change. We confirm the scope in writing before any work begins.