Trust and Estate Planning in Alpharetta, GA
Decide how your assets should be managed for your family, and whether a trust belongs in that plan.
FEE-ONLY · FIDUCIARY · INDEPENDENT RIA · MARC DANER, CFP®, ChFC® · 30+ YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
What Would a Trust Do for Your Family?
You may want someone to manage an inheritance for a child, provide for a spouse while preserving a later gift to other family members, or take over financial responsibilities if you become unable to manage them. Those are different needs, and they do not all call for the same trust.
At Daner Wealth Management, we help you consider the financial side of those decisions. We look at the assets involved, the income you still need, and how a proposed arrangement fits your wider estate plan. Your estate attorney recommends the legal structure and prepares the documents. We coordinate the account and financial planning details with that advice.
Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts
Keeping Flexibility During Your Lifetime
A revocable living trust generally lets you change its terms while you are living and able to act. You can name a successor trustee to manage trust assets when you cannot, and describe how those assets should be distributed after your death.
Assets properly transferred to the trust can generally pass under its terms without going through probate. Creating the document alone does not accomplish that transfer. A revocable trust also does not, by itself, remove its assets from your taxable estate.
Making a More Permanent Transfer
An irrevocable trust generally limits your ability to change the arrangement or take assets back. It may be considered for a particular beneficiary’s needs or a specific transfer objective, but the consequences depend on its terms and the applicable law.
Before committing assets, you need to understand what control you retain, who can receive distributions, and whether you may need that money yourself. Tax savings and protection from creditors are not automatic features of every irrevocable trust.
Funding Is Part of the Work
A signed trust and a funded trust are different things. Depending on the asset, funding may involve changing the ownership of an investment account, transferring property through an attorney, or coordinating a beneficiary designation.
Each account needs its own review. Retirement accounts require particular care: naming a trust as beneficiary can affect the rules for distributions after death. It should be evaluated with your attorney and tax adviser rather than treated as a routine change to every account.
Our role includes reviewing beneficiary designations and account titling alongside your financial plan. Legal transfers, trust language, and tax filings belong with the appropriate professionals.
Choose Someone Who Can Carry Out the Terms
A trustee has responsibilities beyond agreeing to help the family. Managing assets, maintaining records, making distributions, and communicating with beneficiaries can require considerable time and judgment.
Consider whether the person you have in mind has the availability and skills for that work, and how the appointment might affect family relationships. A professional trustee may be worth discussing with your attorney when the arrangement is complex or intended to continue for many years.
How We’re Paid
As a fee-only firm, our primary service is comprehensive financial planning and investment management for an annual fee based on the assets we manage, generally around 1% on a tiered scale. For prospective clients who are considering our ongoing wealth management services but aren't ready to commit, we also offer the option of developing an initial comprehensive financial plan for a one-time, flat fee. We don't earn commissions from selling investment or insurance products. We'll walk you through exactly what that means for your situation before you commit to anything.
Why Choose Daner Wealth Management
Marc Daner, CFP®, ChFC®, has helped families organize what they leave behind as part of a full financial picture for more than 30 years. As an independent, fee-only fiduciary, we're required by law to act in your best interest, not selling products or earning commissions. We explain your options in plain language and stay with you as your plan evolves.
Questions About Trust Planning
Not necessarily. A trust should address a need in your circumstances, such as ongoing management for a beneficiary or continuity during incapacity. Your attorney can assess whether a trust adds enough value to justify the legal work and ongoing administration. A trust does not replace every function of a will.
No. Trust ownership alone does not erase a gain. The tax result depends on the trust, the asset, and how it is transferred. Property received as a lifetime gift and property inherited at death can have different tax bases, which affect a later sale. Review the income-tax consequences as well as the estate-planning purpose before transferring appreciated assets.
No. We work alongside your estate attorney, who handles the legal documents. Daner’s work addresses how your accounts, beneficiaries, and financial plan support the arrangement. Learn more about how a financial planner works with your estate attorney.
