You've worked hard to build something enduring, which can't be assigned a dollar value. As you think about what comes next and begin developing plans to transition your wealth to future generations, it's important to have clear communications to help create family alignment and clear expectations. While we don't provide estate planning, we can help facilitate those conversations.
Streamline wealth transitions
An estate valued between $1 million and $5 million can spend, on average, 15.9 months in probate. What's more, getting it out of probate costs, on average, $38,300 in executor compensation, accounting, and legal fees.1 Having a well-designed estate plan in place can help manage both the delays and costs, helping to ensure a more streamlined transition of assets.
Talking at the right time
No one likes to think about aging and elder care, which is why 68% of Americans avoid talking about it.2 The problem is that avoidance could be costly, as it pushes conversations out to a time when emotions are more likely to take over.
Clear communication matters
Wealth transitions can create challenges for families, even under the best of circumstances. But 50% of heirs over the age of 50 don't learn about their inheritance until the will is read.3 We believe avoiding these kinds of surprises can help keep family relationships intact, which may be your most important legacy.
We've worked with thousands of families to help create smoother wealth transitions, applying our experience in creating open family dialogues designed to prepare people for the responsibilities that come with inheriting wealth.
Keep everything current
In an effort to ensure your estate plan continues to meet your family's needs, it's important to revisit and update estate planning documents every 5 years, or more frequently when there are significant changes to your situation. We may be able to provide guidance as you're doing this.5
Open dialogue can lead to better outcomes
Open communication is key, whether the topic is distribution of your assets, your plan for aging, developing a charitable gifting strategy designed to help mitigate taxes, or creating clear expectations of how you hope your long-term legacy will be carried out. We can help lead your family through open, honest dialogue around these important topics.
Get help creating your plan
An estate plan can help set your family members up for long-term success, creating tax efficiencies and helping you avoid probate, potentially creating a smoother transition of your wealth. For qualified clients, we may be to provide guidance as you work to create documents like wills, power of attorney for health care proxies, and trusts.
Investing in the next generation
Planning for the costs of education is one of the most important things you can do for future generations. We can help you build a plan then work with you to leverage tax-advantaged accounts like 529 plans.
If you're looking to refine the way you think about wealth transitions, a conversation with your Fidelity advisor4 is a great next step. Here's some of what we can discuss:
Have you had meaningful conversations with your family members about your plan? Do you feel like everyone's on the same page when it comes to your intentions?
Have you discussed the potential benefits of creating a trust?
Have you clearly communicated your wishes to your loved ones?
Does your estate plan have provisions for issues like long-term care and other health care related expenses you may encounter?
Does your plan have provisions to ensure your loved one's educational needs are covered?
I'm ready to discuss your needs around estate, legacy and family as well as a range of other topics. Let's talk about your plan.
Additional resources
Insights and perspectives
Learn more about what both Fidelity and outside professionals are saying about estate and legacy planning.
Planning tools
As you create your estate plan, we offer a suite of tools and calculators that can help you look at different possibilities to see how they can potentially complement any planning you and your Fidelity advisor4 do together.
Fidelity Estate Planner®
Our online tool can help guide you through the planning process and help you connect with an attorney.
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Family wealth transfer checklist
A list of the documents you should be reviewing on a regular basis and the discussion topics you may have to consider discussing with family members to help ensure your estate plan is up to date.
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FidSafe®–digital estate planning document storage
The secure way to keep all your documents—even those not related to estate planning—all in one place, making it easy to share information with your Fidelity advisor, tax professional, or attorney.
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Learn more
Take a moment to learn more about some of the different ways Fidelity can work with you as you create an estate plan.
