Estate planning for high net worth individuals means making sure your legal documents, account registrations and tax filings describe the same plan. Your attorney drafts the documents and gives legal advice, your CPA handles the tax side, and a planner coordinates beneficiary designations, titling, liquidity and timing. This guide covers what to settle before you meet your attorney.
GGM Wealth Advisors does not provide legal advice. Estate documents are drafted by your own attorney, who is licensed in your state. This article is general education, not legal or tax advice.
Why does estate planning look different when income and assets are high?
When income is high, a large share of what you own often passes outside your will. Retirement accounts, life insurance, equity awards and business interests generally move by beneficiary designation, plan terms or contract, not by the will. A signed will can sit next to accounts that say something different, and the account paperwork may control.
Timing also matters. A concentrated block of employer stock, a practice partnership or a business you may sell can change in value quickly, and an estate may need cash at a specific moment. Neither the documents nor the tax return will answer where that cash could come from. That gap is where coordination between professionals matters most.
Who does what: attorney, CPA and planner?
Each professional has a lane. Problems tend to appear in the handoffs between them, so it helps to know who owns which task.
| Who | What this person typically handles |
|---|---|
| Estate attorney | Drafts and updates wills, trusts, powers of attorney and health care directives. Gives legal advice on your state's rules, guardianship and how documents are signed and witnessed. |
| CPA | Prepares income, gift and estate tax returns and advises on tax positions. |
| Planner (GGM Wealth Advisors) | Coordinates beneficiary designations, how accounts are titled, where liquidity could come from, and timing. Passes changes back to your attorney and CPA. Does not draft documents or give legal or tax advice. |
| Insurance agent | Reviews and issues life and disability coverage. The planner helps size the need and checks that ownership and beneficiaries fit the plan. |
Our Estate and legacy coordination service sits in the planner row. It starts from the documents your attorney has drafted and checks whether the accounts match them.
What should you organize before the first attorney meeting?
An attorney can work faster, and usually more precisely, when you arrive with facts rather than recollections. Five items cover most of it.
- An asset and titling inventory. List every account, property and business interest, and note how each is titled: individual, joint, trust or entity. Titling determines whether an asset follows the document or something else.
- Beneficiary designations. Pull the current primary and contingent designations on retirement plans, life insurance and any account with a transfer-on-death registration. For equity awards, bring the plan documents and award agreements, because they differ on what happens after a death.
- Business ownership documents. Bring operating or shareholder agreements, any buy-sell agreement and how it is funded, and a note on who could run the business if you could not.
- Guardianship and incapacity decisions. Decide whom you would name to care for minor children and whom you would trust to act for you if you could not. Bring candidates, including backups.
- Who inherits what, and when. Think through whether beneficiaries receive assets outright or over time, at what ages, and whether any family member has needs that call for different treatment.
A hypothetical to make the gap concrete
Hypothetical example for illustration only: a 48-year-old MedTech executive signed a will and a revocable trust several years ago. Since then, a new brokerage account was opened in her individual name, and an old retirement plan still lists a beneficiary she would no longer choose. The documents describe one plan and the registrations describe another. Which one controls depends on the account type and your state's law, and that is a question for the attorney. A short inventory could surface the mismatch before it matters. Results are not guaranteed and every situation differs.
What changes for equity compensation holders and business owners?
If you hold equity compensation, the open questions are usually about plan terms. Some award agreements address death or disability and some are silent, so read the documents rather than assuming. Vested shares you hold individually may be titled differently from those held through a trust, and concentrated company stock raises a liquidity question for your heirs. Our equity compensation planning guide covers grant types and timing in more depth.
If you own a business, the questions are about continuity and cash. A buy-sell agreement without funding behind it may be an intention rather than a plan. Valuation, who the successor could be, and where liquidity could come from at death are all worth settling with your attorney and CPA. Our guide to business exit planning for owners covers the sale and transition side.
If you are a physician, two related topics sit next to estate planning. Our guide to disability insurance for high-income physicians covers the years you are alive but unable to work. Liability and creditor exposure is a separate question from estate planning, and our guide to asset protection for physicians covers that side.
How do federal and state estate and gift taxes fit in?
Federal figures for 2026. For people who die in 2026, the federal basic exclusion amount is $15,000,000 per person, according to the IRS page on estate and gift tax changes. The annual gift tax exclusion for 2026 is $19,000 per recipient, according to the IRS gift tax FAQ.
A scheduled change for 2027. The IRS announced in November 2026 that the 2027 basic exclusion amount is $15,480,000 and the annual gift exclusion is $20,000, in its tax year 2027 inflation adjustments. These figures can change with future legislation, so confirm the current amounts with your CPA or attorney.
Being below the federal figure does not end the conversation. Inherited retirement accounts can carry income tax consequences for heirs, and state rules may apply.
State rules depend on where you live. Some states add their own estate or inheritance tax, often with thresholds far below the federal amount. The Tax Foundation's 2026 table of state estate and inheritance taxes, updated October 2026, shows roughly a dozen states and the District of Columbia with an estate tax and a handful with an inheritance tax. If you live in or move to one of them, the planning questions could change.
Louisiana works differently. The Louisiana Department of Revenue reports that the state repealed its inheritance tax and that no state estate transfer tax is due for deaths after December 31, 2004. Louisiana law also differs from most common-law states in other ways, including community property between spouses and forced heirship for certain children. Ask your attorney how those rules apply to your family.
Frequently asked questions
Do I still need a planner if I already have an estate attorney?
Your attorney drafts the documents and gives legal advice. A planner coordinates the financial side: beneficiary designations, account titling, liquidity and timing, and passing changes back to your attorney and CPA. Many people find the documents are sound but the accounts have drifted from them. The two roles are complementary, and neither replaces the other.
Does my will control my retirement accounts?
Generally not. Retirement accounts and life insurance usually pass by the beneficiary designation on file with the plan or insurer. A will may not override that designation. The rules vary by account type and by state, so ask your attorney to confirm how your accounts would pass.
What is the federal estate tax exemption for 2026?
The federal basic exclusion amount for deaths in 2026 is $15,000,000 per person, and the annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient, according to the IRS. The IRS has announced $15,480,000 and $20,000 for 2027. Whether any tax could apply to you depends on your total estate and your state of residence.
Do I owe state estate tax if I live in Louisiana?
According to the Louisiana Department of Revenue, the state repealed its inheritance tax and does not impose an estate transfer tax for deaths after 2004. If you own property in, or later move to, another state, different rules could apply. Louisiana also has its own community property and forced heirship rules, which your attorney can explain.
What should I bring to my first estate attorney meeting?
Bring an inventory of accounts and how each is titled, current beneficiary designations, business agreements and any buy-sell terms, names for guardian and agent roles, and your thoughts on who inherits what and when. A planning conversation with us can help you assemble that list before the meeting.
Next step
If you would like help assembling the inventory, or checking whether your accounts match the documents your attorney drafted, you can schedule a planning conversation. You can also read more about our estate and legacy coordination service and our page on protecting your family.
Sources and as-of dates: IRS estate and gift tax page, IRS gift tax FAQ and IRS 2027 inflation adjustments (read November 9, 2026); Tax Foundation state table (October 2026); Louisiana Department of Revenue (page updated February 20, 2025). Figures change, so confirm current amounts before relying on them.