WEALTH TRANSFER SERVICES

Aligning family wealth with family values
Estate planning often stops short at describing how assets will transfer to the next generation but does not prepare the next generation for its responsibilities, resulting in poorly prepared inheritors and disputes over the future of the family business. CFG has special expertise in working with clients and their estate planning attorneys to design multi-generational wealth transfer plans.

Many business owners do not take advantage of available strategies to reduce estate taxation; a surprising number will have their estates taxed at 55% at death due to poor planning, which may threaten the survival of their business. CFG helps owners and stakeholders plan and implement wealth transfer and estate-tax minimization strategies, while remaining sensitive to concerns about control over financial assets.

• Coordination with succession planning
Coordinate estate planning with family business succession strategies, shift asset growth, freeze estate growth and make taxable value disappear for estate-tax purposes.

• Equalization and fairness issues
Create options to equalize estate assets among children active and inactive in the family business and to build a platform for fairness.

• Liquidity analysis
Provide a thorough analysis of liquidity options available for paying estate taxes, including options for financing life insurance transactions.

• Governance
Facilitate family meetings and assist with the formation and operation of family councils, to explore opportunities, responsibilities, and governance of family wealth.

• Philanthropy
Philanthropy is often important to clients but may not have become formalized. CFG assists with preserving a family’s interest in charitable giving including analysis of charitable trusts, private foundations, and working with local community foundations to develop support foundations and/or donor advised funds.

CFG is a member firm of the M Financial Group, a national syndicate of 90 firms formed to custom design and acquire insurance products on behalf of its clients. For high net-worth individuals and public corporations, off-the-shelf insurance products do not meet their unique needs. The M Group's buying influence allows us to work directly with major financial institutions to tailor products that meet specific client objectives.

Our clients are never under an obligation to buy insurance as part of our services. We explore insurance as a funding vehicle along with other options and weigh the costs and benefits of each alternative.