Estate, Gift, and Trust Planning

Tailored Estate and Trust Tax Planning for High-Net-Worth Families

For high-net-worth families, effective estate planning requires much more than a will. Wealthy individuals face complex challenges, including federal and state estate taxes, business succession needs, and questions about transferring wealth while minimizing taxes.

We understand that our clients’ estates vary in size and complexity. Our team takes the time to carefully review your assets, cash flow needs, business interests, and family goals. This helps us figure out which advanced trust options give you the most tax advantages and control.

We work side-by-side with your financial, legal, and fiduciary advisors to create tax-smart ways to pass on your wealth. By teaming up, we make sure nothing gets overlooked. Our goal is to make sure your estate plans are well thought-out and fully optimized for your needs.

Michael Deering >

Partner, Tax Services Leader

Brian Figenholtz >

Tax Partner

Trust Planning 101: A Practical Guide for High-Income Families >

Trust Planning 101: Taxes, Funding, Trustees, and Pitfalls >

Comprehensive Estate, Gift, Succession, and Trust Planning Services

As seasoned advisors, we support you in navigating estate planning. We provide guidance at each step, creating a plan that is customized to your family’s needs and goals.

Estate Plans

We help design and implement a variety of estate planning tools, including:

Revocable living trusts and wills

Irrevocable life insurance trusts

Grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs)

Installment sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts (IDGTs)

Family limited partnership formation and administration

Trust Setup

We help you determine the ideal type of trust for your situation by exploring whether you would benefit from common options such as revocable living trusts, irrevocable trusts, or grantor-retained annuity trusts (GRATs). We will also evaluate options including special needs trusts, charitable trusts, and domestic asset protection trusts to determine their potential benefits for your circumstances.

For detailed breakdowns of each trust type, read our Trust Planning 101 guide.

Estate and Trust Administration

Our services also include the ongoing administration of estates and trusts, including yearly filings, compliance, coordination with fiduciaries, and guidance through settlement processes.

We focus on maintaining value, minimizing taxes, and streamlining the process for your beneficiaries.

Wealth Transfer Tax Considerations

Careful planning allows you to transfer assets or wealth to your family or charities more efficiently. Our team can help you figure out how best to do that for your specific situation to meet your goals and maximize savings.

Gifting and Charitable Donations

Our team guides you in making thoughtful, tax-efficient gifts, maximizing the use of available exemptions and exclusions. We offer our expertise in:

Charitable-giving strategies

Private foundation formation and administration

Charitable trust formation and administration

Gifting to your family

Succession Planning

Succession plans are crucial in case of retirement, illness, or injury, not just death. We help you incorporate business succession into your estate plans, ensuring the handoff of your personal and business assets goes as smoothly as possible. You have many options for what to do with your business upon death, some of which can be complicated, so working with estate and succession planning professionals is essential.

Why Trust and Estate Planning Matters for High-Net-Worth Families and Business Owners

Almost everyone needs an estate plan, but especially those with a high net worth, because you can face major estate taxes and changing tax laws that can dramatically affect how much of your estate goes to your heirs.

People whose estates surpass the 2026 federal exemption of $15 million per person or $30 million per couple are hit with a 40% federal estate tax rate on top of potential state estate taxes. This makes tax‑efficient planning essential to avoid losing large portions of wealth to taxation.

Estate plans are not just for post-death planning; they also help manage your assets in case you are incapacitated, and they document your medical care preferences. If you own a business, you can use estate planning to ensure your company continues smoothly and according to your wishes.

Beyond preventing family disagreements and avoiding probate, estate plans also offer more privacy for your family. Wills are often public records, so their details are accessible to anyone, while estate plans keep asset distribution private.

Our Trust and Estate Tax Planning Process

Our trust and estate tax planning process is built on 30 years of experience helping clients protect their wealth and prepare with confidence. We begin by getting to know your full financial picture, your family’s goals, and what you want your legacy to look like.

From there, we work closely with your investment advisors, attorneys, and other professionals to create a long‑term strategy that fits your needs and stays aligned across every part of your financial life.

Throughout the year, our team handles all required trust, estate, and gift tax filings so you stay compliant while minimizing your tax exposure. We keep you informed about changing inheritance tax rules, exemptions, deductions, credits, and important deadlines, so you never miss an opportunity or get caught off guard by shifting regulations.

Core Trust Structures and When They Make Sense

Choosing the right trust structure is essential for protecting your assets, achieving your goals, and ensuring your wishes are honored. We take a client-focused approach to find the trust options that best fit your unique situation, including:

Revocable living trust: This trust lets you keep control of your assets while you’re alive and decide who gets what after you’re gone. It’s a smart way to avoid probate and make things easier for your loved ones, especially in the event you become incapacitated.

Irrevocable trusts: Irrevocable trusts are helpful if you’re looking to shrink your taxable estate and protect your wealth for future generations. There are two main types:

Living irrevocable trust: Best if you want to make an immediate transfer during your lifetime for gifting or asset protection reasons.

Testamentary trust: Ideal when you want to set up a trust that only kicks in after your passing, using instructions from your will.

Irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT): An ILIT is handy if you want your life insurance payout to go straight to your beneficiaries, without adding to your estate taxes. It’s a good option for folks with large policies who want those funds protected and managed according to specific wishes.

Spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT): A SLAT works well for couples who want to take advantage of current estate and gift tax exemptions, while still letting one spouse benefit from the assets. This is especially useful if you expect the limits to change soon.

Grantor-retained annuity trust (GRAT): If you have assets you think will grow a lot in value, a GRAT can help you transfer future appreciation to your beneficiaries with little or no gift tax. It’s best used when you’re confident your assets will outperform the IRS rate, and when you’re comfortable with the risk that you might not outlive the trust term, or if growth isn’t as strong as expected.

Our team helps you determine if any of these or other trust structures are a good fit for your needs.

TRUST PLANNING 101 GUIDE

Why Choose Mowery & Schoenfeld for Estate, Gift, and Trust Tax Planning Services

If you’ve accumulated substantial assets, you should look beyond the day-to-day of your wealth. By combining our accounting and wealth management expertise, we aim to give you peace of mind about your finances, your family, and the future you’re building.

By working with Mowery & Schoenfeld, you can ensure you remain compliant while creating a plan that’s in line with how you want to pass along your wealth. With a personalized approach that keeps your wishes front and center, we can help you prepare the best path forward.