Estate Planning &
Charitable Planning

At RGF, our holistic approach to estate planning is as much about bringing our clients peace of mind as striving to provide the highest level of expertise.

That process begins with assessing each client’s values and desires and reflecting those values and desires in their will or revocable trust. Because our clients have diverse backgrounds, assets, and risk tolerances, we not only tailor our recommendations to each client’s specific concerns, but how each client prioritizes those concerns.

Minimizing taxes means maximizing what passes to beneficiaries, and as such, represents an integral part of the estate planning process. For clients with estate tax exposure, we not only offer advice on a wide array of sophisticated strategies (from family limited partnerships to irrevocable trusts such as ILITs, IDGTs, GRATs, QPRTs, SLATs, BDITs, CRUTs, and CLATs), but we can apply numbers to that advice with respect to each client’s circumstances and objectives. And for those clients who are concerned with the burden of income taxes that will be imposed on their beneficiaries, a deftly drafted retirement plan beneficiary designation or agreement to convert separate property to community property can be just as significant as their will or revocable trust.

That said, estate planning is not all about taxes. Many of our clients are concerned with privacy, protecting their beneficiaries from creditors or themselves, or creating and maintaining a family, entrepreneurial, or philanthropic legacy. For those clients, an effectively executed residence trust, buy-sell agreement, or charitable trust can also be just as significant as their will or revocable trust.  

Most importantly, we have the experience to know what works in theory and what works in practice, and if and when the pursuit of one outcome could undermine the pursuit of another, we help our clients find the optimal balance.