Plan Your Estate
Concierge Financial Planning for Your Family’s Future
Strategies designed around your family, your legacy, and the people who matter most, so you can focus on living well today while planning thoughtfully for tomorrow.
Estate Planning with Cadeau
Your legacy is about more than assets. It’s about the people, values, and goals you hope to pass on for generations to come. At Cadeau Family Wealth, we help families coordinate estate planning considerations within a broader financial strategy, creating a thoughtful approach to wealth transfer, retirement planning, charitable giving, and long-term financial priorities.
What is Estate Planning?
Estate planning is a holistic process that organizes your financial affairs and documents your wishes for the management and distribution of assets after your passing. A comprehensive estate plan may address wealth transfer, tax considerations, charitable giving, healthcare decisions, and the preservation of assets for future generations.
What are Key Parts of Estate Planning?
The estate planning process may look different depending on the state you are in, the size of your estate, and your specific goals. Generally, though, you can expect the following to be part of the estate planning process.
Estate Planning Documents
- Last will and testament: This document creates detailed outlines on how assets may be distributed, naming an executor to administer the estate.
- Living will (healthcare directive, advance directive): This document communicates an individual’s preferences regarding certain medical treatments and end-of-life care decisions.
- Trusts: Trusts are legal arrangements that tell executors how to manage and distribute financial assets.
- Durable power of attorney (POA): A durable power of attorney is a legal document. It establishes authority for another person to act on your behalf in designated matters if you become unable to do so.
- Financial power of attorney: This document grants authority to a trusted individual to handle financial affairs on your behalf.
- Medical power of attorney (healthcare proxy): This document gives someone the ability to make health-related decisions on your behalf.
Tax Planning
Tax planning is often a consideration within the estate planning process because the structure of an estate may affect tax liability and the transfer of assets to heirs or charitable organizations. Estate planning strategies may involve reviewing estate taxes, beneficiary designations, ownership structures, and methods that may reduce administrative complexity, including planning techniques that, in some circumstances, may avoid probate.
Investment Planning
Investment planning may help align investment accounts with broader estate planning goals, including wealth transfer objectives and future income needs. An investment strategy can also be reviewed to ensure account ownership, beneficiaries, and asset allocation remain consistent with an overall financial plan.
Insurance Planning
Insurance planning is a process of planning policies in such a way that it covers major life events to reduce financial stress during difficult emotional times. Life insurance planning is a major part of the estate planning process.
Reviewing life insurance policies—and evaluating how they fit within a family’s broader estate planning goals—can help ensure policy proceeds go to designated beneficiaries swiftly and in full.
How Can Estate Planning Help My Family?
Planning for the future may seem overwhelming. It doesn’t have to be.
At Cadeau Family Wealth, our concierge wealth management services are designed for you and yours. Every financial strategy takes into account your unique situation: your financial health, your long-term goals, your family dynamics, and more.
Don’t just talk to an estate planning financial advisor. Talk to a passionate team of financial experts who are ready to partner with your current financial team to craft an estate plan that protects what matters most to you.
FAQs
What are the three types of estate?
In estate planning law, there are three basic types of estates to be familiar with:
- Fee Simple Estate: The most complete form of property ownership, providing broad rights to possess, use, transfer, or sell the property, subject to applicable laws and restrictions.
- Life Estate: An ownership arrangement that grants a person rights to use and occupy a property during their lifetime, after which ownership transfers to another designated party.
- Leasehold Estate: A property interest, created through a lease agreement, that grants use of a property for a specified period. It does does not transfer ownership.
What is the difference between a financial planner and an estate planner?
A financial planner typically helps clients evaluate and coordinate various aspects of their financial lives, such as retirement planning, investment planning, risk management, cash flow, and estate planning considerations. A Certified Financial Planner™ professional may provide guidance across multiple financial planning disciplines, depending on their services and credentials.
An estate planner, as the name implies, focuses on estate-related matters. These matters may include filing legal documents and clarifying trust structures. Because responsibilities and qualifications vary, individuals may work with multiple professionals as part of the estate planning process.
How do I choose the right financial advisor for estate planning?
When evaluating a financial advisor for estate planning discussions, factors commonly considered include the advisor’s experience, credentials, services offered, communication style, and approach to coordinating with other professionals such as attorneys, accountants, and tax professionals.
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