Estate & Legacy Planning
your legacy deserves more than a legal document
Protect what you've built.
Your wealth represents decades of discipline, sacrifice, and vision. At Symphony Wealth Group, our estate and legacy planning services ensure that everything you've built is protected, organized, and transferred on your terms — to the people and causes that matter most to you.
We work alongside your attorneys and CPAs to bring everything into harmony, so your estate plan isn't just a legal document — it's a living reflection of your values.
Our Approach to Estate & Legacy Planning
Most financial advisors treat estate planning as an afterthought. We treat it as a cornerstone. Because your estate plan doesn't just affect what happens when you're gone — it affects your financial confidence today.
What is Estate & Legacy Planning?
Estate planning is the process of arranging how your assets will be managed during your lifetime and distributed after it. Legacy planning goes a step further — it's about the story you leave behind: your values, your intentions, and the impact you want to have on the next generation.
A comprehensive estate plan typically includes wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and strategies to minimize estate taxes. At Symphony Wealth Group, we coordinate all of these elements alongside your broader financial plan, so nothing falls through the cracks.
Estate and legacy planning services
we provide guidance on:
- Will and trust planning coordination
- Beneficiary designation review and optimization
- Asset titling and ownership structure
- Revocable and irrevocable trust strategies
- Charitable giving and donor-advised funds
- Business succession planning
- Powers of attorney and healthcare directives
- Estate tax minimization strategies
- Gifting strategies and annual exclusion planning
- Legacy goal setting and family wealth conversations
Is it time for your to put together
an estate plan?
Estate and legacy planning is valuable at nearly every stage of life, but is especially important for clients who:
- Have a net worth of $500,000 or more
- Own a business or real estate
- Have children or dependents they want to provide for
- Want to support charitable causes in a tax-efficient way
- Have experienced a major life event — marriage, divorce, birth of a child, or the death of a loved one
- Have an existing estate plan that hasn't been reviewed in several years
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an estate plan if I'm not wealthy?
Yes. Estate planning is for anyone with children, those who own property, or people who have any assets they want to pass on. An estate plan ensures your wishes are carried out and prevents your family from having to navigate a lengthy and costly probate process. It also allows you to designate who makes medical and financial decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated.
What's the difference between a will and a trust?
A will is a legal document that outlines how your assets should be distributed after your death. It goes through probate — a public, court-supervised process. A trust is a legal arrangement that holds assets on behalf of beneficiaries and typically avoids probate, offering more privacy, faster asset transfer, and greater control over how and when assets are distributed. Many clients benefit from having both.
How often should I update my estate plan?
We recommend reviewing your estate plan every three to five years, or after any major life event — marriage, divorce, birth of a child or grandchild, death of a beneficiary or executor, significant change in assets, or major changes in tax laws. Outdated plans can create serious problems for your family.
How does estate planning relate to my investment and retirement accounts?
Your investment and retirement accounts — such as IRAs and 401(k)s — pass to beneficiaries by designation, not through your will. This means that if your beneficiary designations are outdated or inconsistent with your overall estate plan, your wishes may not be honored. We review and coordinate all of these elements to ensure everything is aligned.
What is a legacy plan, and how is it different from an estate plan?
An estate plan addresses the legal and financial mechanics of transferring wealth. A legacy plan goes deeper — it's about articulating your values, telling your story, and guiding how future generations use the wealth you leave behind. This can include family mission statements, ethical wills, charitable foundations, or structured gifting programs that reflect what matters most to you.
Can Symphony Wealth Group help with charitable giving as part of my estate plan?
Absolutely! We help clients explore a range of charitable giving strategies — from donor-advised funds and charitable remainder trusts to direct bequests and qualified charitable distributions from IRAs. We analyze the tax implications and help you structure giving in a way that fulfills your philanthropic goals while optimizing your overall financial picture.
Schedule a complimentary consultation
Our process begins with an in-depth consultation to understand your financial situation and aspirations. We then develop a customized financial plan that is regularly reviewed and adjusted to reflect your evolving needs.