Estate Planning

Client Name: Bill & Linda

Married Couple

Net Worth: $280,000,000

Bill & Linda have amassed a commercial real estate empire on both the west and east coast. Their family consists of them and their three adult children. Under the current structure of their estate, if both Bill & Linda were to pass away, their estate would owe the IRS $103,000,000 in cash payable in nine months due to Federal Estate Taxes. This keeps Bill & Linda up at night. This is money they worked hard to create, and it would forever be lost to their children, grandchildren and future generations.

Challenges: With the majority of their wealth tied-up in illiquid real estate holdings, coming up with $103 million over a nine-month period would be a disastrous outcome absent the proper planning. To compound matters, if they passed away in the middle of a recession/financial crisis, they might only receive cents on the dollar for their properties, as they would need to be quickly liquidated to pay the Federal Estate Taxes.

The Brezden Solution: BWA showed Bill & Linda multiple strategies to plan and pay for this inevitable expense. After concluding on what estate planning technique made the most sense given their estate fact pattern, BWA quarterbacked the situation and collaborated with their existing Attorney and CPA to put in place the proper mechanisms to reduce and pay for this expense in the most cost-effective manner. This proactive planning allowed Bill & Linda to keep together what they had worked their entire lives to build.

This is a hypothetical example for illustrative purposes.  It is not representative of any specific product or investment strategy.  Results will vary.