Legacy Planning, Once Removed

Episode 58 of the Legacy Planning, Once Removed podcast series hosted by Steve Murphy, former leader of McGuireWoods’ Private Wealth Services Practice Group. A prior episode looked at estates that feature a key asset, such as a family business, which owners hope to pass along to the next generation as a source of family wealth, stability, unity and identity. Unfortunately, in many cases the transf...

In many cases, an estate plan features a prominent asset such as a family business, which many owners hope to pass on to the next generation. But statistics reveal that few family businesses survive to the next generation. One particular obstacle to this succession plan is the estate tax that would be due on the owner’s interest upon death. This estate tax liability causes a need for cash that cou...

The concept of a “trust reveal” — a dramatic family meeting at which wealthy parents or grandparents disclose the full scope of trusts and estate structures to beneficiaries — has gained attention as a trending approach to intergenerational wealth transfer. This episode cautions against treating the estate plan as a single dramatic unveiling. This conversation explores a more measured alternative:...

Estate planning can feel overwhelming, but the concept of spring cleaning offers a practical framework for staying on top of your plan with low pressure and specific, achievable goals. This episode outlines four key tasks for an estate plan review: updating a chart of assets with ownership and beneficiary information, locating and organizing essential documents (wills, trusts, powers of attorney,...

A key element of any estate plan is the completion of beneficiary designations and payable-on-death designations for assets. These documents may look routine, but they control who receives certain accounts. This episode discusses issues to consider when filling out these designations, and provides some guidance and potential pitfalls.

Establishing a revocable trust is just the first step. In order to ensure that assets are properly managed and distributed during life and upon death, the client should consider whether and when to fund the revocable trust. Moving assets into a revocable trust is as much about process as it is about purpose. This conversation clarifies what “funding” means, when retitling supports probate avoidanc...

Estate and tax planning is often influenced by specific numbers and thresholds, such as the estate/gift tax exemption, the GST tax exemption, the annual exclusion amount and income tax brackets. These numbers are periodically adjusted for inflation. This episode summarizes inflation adjustments for 2026 and provides guidance on how the new numbers might affect planning.

An estate plan can address not only what happens upon a person’s passing but also how decisions are made if the person cannot make them during life. One set of documents — called a living will, healthcare power of attorney, advance directive or advance medical directive, depending on the state — designates an agent to make healthcare decisions on the person’s behalf and communicates what care they...

To make sure an estate plan can be administered effectively, it takes more than putting in place the right documents, structures and strategies. The executor, agent, trustee and other important figures must have access to information that will help them administer the estate or trust – and in many cases, the successors don’t know where to begin. This episode explores one of the most popular concep...

A power of attorney is a foundational document in an estate plan that names an agent to make decisions on behalf of the principal who, for instance, is disabled or not available. While it can be an important method of managing the principal’s finances, there are key issues the planner should consider when drafting a power of attorney.

When donors make gifts — during their lives or upon death — they typically give up control. Trusts have long been a tool for donors to maintain influence over how assets are managed and distributed by choosing trustees and drafting instructions. Traditionally, the settlor — the person creating the trust — cannot serve as trustee, especially if they want the trust to achieve certain tax or asset pr...

Under current law, individuals have a high estate tax exemption. But if one spouse dies without using all of his or her remaining exemption, steps can be taken to allow the surviving spouse to pick up and use a deceased spouse’s exemption — the Deceased Spouse’s Unused Exclusion (DSUE) — through a process called portability. This can result in significant tax savings upon the surviving spouse’s de...

As part of their estate planning, many clients want to specifically provide sums for the education of their descendants or other beneficiaries. It is easy to understand why — many clients see education as a way to facilitate their beneficiaries’ personal and professional development and help them lead productive and fulfilling lives. This episode explores the concept of an Educational Dynasty Trus...

The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act provides some clarity around the laws related to estate tax, gift tax and generation-skipping (GST) tax — at least for now. This episode summarizes the key provisions of that act. Perhaps most importantly, the passage of this act provides an opportunity for clients to revisit their estate plan and current tax strategies without the immediate time...

Tax laws seem to regularly change, and clients face estate and tax planning challenges in the face of that uncertainty. For the last few years, estate and tax planners had one issue in mind: the scheduled “sunset” of the high estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions at the end of 2025. But the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act proposes to keep the exemptions hig...

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act being considered by Congress serves as a reminder of the uncertainty of tax law. Although tax law should not be the only consideration in an estate and legacy plan, clients should adopt such plans with tax issues in mind — which is difficult because tax laws often change. In a recent episode, “Countdown to Sunset 2025: Planning in the Face of Scheduled Changes in the...

The last two episodes discussed the challenges everyone faces with being purposeful and productive throughout the day. Part 3 of this series continues the exploration of this topic through the metaphor of golf and other golf-like activities. This episode examines the metaphor of finalizing and polishing projects with care and using self-reflection to build positive habits for the future.

As discussed in the last episode, a common feature of daily life seems to be that everyone in the family is busy, and everyone struggles with being productive. Part 2 of this series explores more lessons from sports — particularly golf — for identifying the most important things to work on and staying productive throughout the day.

One common feature of daily life in every generation is that everyone is busy and struggles with being productive. This episode explores lessons from sports — in particular, golf — as a metaphor for helping us start our day in a way that makes it productive and meaningful.

There are numerous ways to give or leave assets to beneficiaries, and each structure should be carefully tailored to be consistent with the client’s goals. Three common goals for estate planning are to protect, manage and preserve assets. This episode explores ways to structure asset protection, asset management and asset preservation trusts to balance access, control and flexibility.

There is a lot of talk about fostering the right “mindset” to facilitate personal growth and fulfilment. The most popular seems to be a “growth mindset,” compared to a “fixed mindset.” This episode explores a related concept — that of a “legacy mindset.” The legacy mindset is a mindset directed at an individual’s legacy or effect on people, institutions, or ideas. This episode considers the value...

Estate plans and lifetime gifts are often based on discretionary distributions to beneficiaries. But famed investor Warren Buffett and movie star Ashton Kutcher have suggested an alternative, in which beneficiaries do not receive gifts – instead, those beneficiaries can take out a loan from a trust, or can ask a trust to make an investment in a beneficiary’s venture.  This episode explores th...

An estate plan often involves establishing an irrevocable trust for certain beneficiaries. But when circumstances change, clients wonder if the benefits no longer justify the costs of keeping the assets in a trust. Before moving to terminate a trust, however, parties should consider carefully whether the purposes of the trust would best be served through termination, if termination is permitt...

Many clients ask whether and when to share the estate plan with beneficiaries. Even after a client’s death, during the administration of an estate or trust, executors and trustees often ask the same questions about how much to share with beneficiaries. Communicating this estate plan can have important practical, moral and legal benefits in making sure the plan is carried out in the right way...

On this podcast, Steve often explores ways to establish and administer trusts to facilitate productive and healthy beneficiaries. This episode explores a particular structure to further this goal: a “beneficiary well-being trust,” now authorized under Delaware law.  A beneficiary well-being trust authorizes, and could require, the trustee to provide programs for the beneficiary regarding...