April 2025: Passing it on - Smart Legacy Planning | Senior Truth Series

Passing It On: Smart Strategies For Your Legacy

Your legacy planning matters. That’s why protecting your assets, avoiding probate, and staying in control ensures you leave a legacy that lasts for generations. Let’s make a plan to ensure your loved ones aren’t left guessing. Senior Truth Series brought together a panel of expert estate planning attorneys and financial advisors to help guide you through smart strategies to pass on wealth, businesses, and digital assets. 

Preparing Your Legacy for the Next Generations

Every person eventually deals with the topic of how to plan ahead so your legacy is clear, protected, and aligned with your values. We brought together estate planning attorneys, financial advisors, and an elder law specialist to highlight key decisions that come with aging, caregiving, and end-of-life planning.

Julie kicked things off by sharing why this topic has felt especially close to home. Between caring for aging parents and watching her grandmother reach nearly 101 years old, she reminded the group that planning ahead isn’t just a nice idea, it’s something that can save your family from confusion and stress later on.

Meet the Panel

• Mike Fischer, estate planning attorney with Payne & Jones

• Moren Lester, elder law attorney with Complete Estate & Probate

• Nathan Haskins and Melinda Parks, financial advisors with Free State Advisors

Julie compared each expert role to a triangle; legal, financial, and long-term care support are all needed to work together across four main life stages: your working years, retirement, long-term care, and the transfer of assets after death.

Key Legacy Planning Details 

1. Wills vs. Trusts and Why It Matters

A will goes through probate court, which can take time and may complicate things for your family, while a trust can help avoid that process. He also talked about the importance of naming someone you trust as your financial and healthcare power of attorney, not just thinking about who gets what.

Don’t wait until something goes wrong to get these documents in place. Once they’re finished, you can rest a little easier.

2. Financial Planning Isn’t Just for the Wealthy

Whether you're working, nearing retirement, or already retired, having a plan helps you make smart decisions and prepare for the unexpected. A typical plan includes elements like income, investments, taxes, estate planning, and insurance.

Different types of accounts transfer differently after death. For example, IRAs are taxed when passed to children, while brokerage accounts can get a step-up in value. These are the kinds of things that can either save your family money or cost them more than expected, depending on how you set things up.

3. Elder Law Helps When Life Takes a Turn

Around 70%of people will need some form of long-term care, which usually means hands-on help for more than 100 days. That care is expensive and often arrives sooner than expected.

Sometimes the unexpected occurs, like a fall, a diagnosis, or a spouse can no longer be a caregiver, which leads to new problems like figuring out how to cover costs, what benefits are available, and what legal updates might be needed. Asset protection trusts help you plan at least five years ahead so your family has more options.

Additional Legacy Financial Planning Tips

1. The Importance of the “Team Approach”

No one professional covers everything. Estate attorneys, financial planners, and elder law specialists all bring different expertise, and working together is critical, especially as someone moves from working years to retirement, into long-term care, and eventually passing on assets.

2. How Different Assets Transfer at Death

Not all assets pass the same way. For example:

• IRAs and 401(k)s are taxable to heirs and must be withdrawn within 10 years.

• Brokerage accounts receive a step-up in basis, eliminating capital gains at death.

• Real estate can be passed via Transfer on Death (TOD) deeds, but this comes with risks if not handled carefully.

3. Transfer-on-Death (TOD) and Pay-on-Death (POD) Pitfalls

While these tools are popular, we caution that they can unintentionally cause disputes. Naming one child to receive the house through a TOD deed, with the “understanding” they’ll share proceeds, is not legally binding.

4. The Role of Powers of Attorney

Having up-to-date durable powers of attorney, such as for finances and healthcare, is non-negotiable. These documents allow someone you trust to step in when you can’t act on your own behalf.

5. When to Talk to a Financial Planner or Elder Law Attorney

You don’t need to be wealthy or in crisis to benefit from help:

• Financial planning is for anyone with income and goals

• Elder law is useful before a crisis hits, especially if you're 5+ years out from needing care

• Estate planning is important even in your 20s, especially if you have children or specific wishes

6. Medicaid Planning & the Five-Year Look-Back Rule

Long-term care planning can preserve assets, but only if done early enough. The five-year look-back rule means families must plan ahead to qualify for Medicaid without penalties.

7. Emotional Readiness & Family Dynamics

Most of the work you put in comes down to relationships and clarity. Misunderstandings about "who gets what" or unspoken assumptions about caregiving responsibilities often cause tension that benefit no one.

Final Thoughts on Passing the Torch

Start your legacy talks early. The rules are complicated and intention matters, so iron out the details well in advance to minimize confusion. When seeking help, build a team you trust and feel comfortable talking to. If you haven’t looked at your estate documents in a while, it may be time to dust them off and review them again. Finally, it’s ok to plan for the ideal situation, but you should also prepare for the unexpected. Life has a funny way of surprising us when we least expect it.