Advisor Insight

Wealthy suffer from 'estate-planning fatigue'

Shelly Schwartz, special to CNBC.com
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Despite their wealth and business savvy, more than one-third of high-net-worth families have not taken the most basic steps to protect and provide for their loved ones when they die, according to a recent survey by CNBC.com.

The CNBC Millionaire Survey found 38 percent of those with investable assets of $1 million or more have not used a financial expert to establish an estate plan, while 62 percent have.

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Individuals with $5 million or more (68 percent) were more likely to do so, compared to those with $1 million to $5 million in assets (61 percent), according to the survey, conducted by Spectrem Group for CNBC, which polled 750 millionaires.

Republicans (68 percent) were also more likely to use a financial advisor to establish an estate plan than Democrats (61 percent) or independents (58 percent).

The numbers don't surprise Mitch Drossman, national director of wealth-planning strategies for U.S. Trust, who said the constant changes to the federal estate-tax law for nearly a decade (until it was made permanent in 2013) resulted in "estate-planning fatigue."

"We have had an incredible amount of uncertainty with respect to estate taxes, and every change led advisors to reach out to their clients to explain these changes and be sure their documents were up to date and reflective of those changes," he said. "Clients finally said, 'Enough already.'"

The higher federal estate-tax exemption amount, which now stands at $5.43 million per person due to annual inflation adjustments, has also rendered estate planning a lesser priority for many wealthy families, said David Mendels, a certified financial planner and director of planning for Creative Financial Concepts.

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Married couples can combine their exemptions to give away $10.86 million tax-free in 2015.

"I think people tend to think of estate planning as being primarily a means to reduce estate taxes, and therefore, if they don't have to pay estate tax, they may feel they don't have to do any planning," said Mendels.

But 15 states, including New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as the District of Columbia, levy their own estate taxes, which kick in at much lower thresholds. New Jersey's exemption, for example, is $675,000, Rhode Island's is $921,655, and Maryland's is $1 million. "Depending on where you live, estate taxes may still be a factor," said Mendels.

Estate planning, however, is about much more than the size of one's taxable estate, he said.

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It's a series of documents that protect your assets, provide for your children and delineate your wishes regarding end-of-life decisions. Absent specific instructions, family members are left to guess at what you would have wanted, causing unnecessary stress and infighting.

"Estate planning is not necessarily synonymous with tax planning," said Drossman at U.S. Trust. "There are still many valid reasons to do non-tax estate planning to address property management, to protect assets and to address exactly where you stand on issues you may confront later in life, like cognitive decline or disability.

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"That's going to be a bigger issue with longer life expectancies, better medical care and the aging population," he added.

For families with minor children, a last will and testament is the most critical estate-planning document they can have, said Mendels at Creative Financial Concepts.

"If you have young children, you need a will," he said. "It's not about the money. You need to name a guardian for your children, in case something happens to you and your spouse."

It can also be used to set up trusts for any property your child will inherit and to name a trustee to handle the property until your child reaches the age you specify.

Thy will be done

Failure to do so means the courts would have to decide who is best suited to care for your children if tragedy should strike. A medical power of attorney is another important weapon in your estate-planning arsenal, authorizing an individual to make health-care decisions on your behalf in the event of physical injury or cognitive impairment.

If you're married, that's typically your spouse, but if he or she dies first, you'll need a backup—ideally, someone who is geographically nearby who can communicate in person with your health-care providers, said estate-planning attorney and CFP Austin Frye, founder and president of Frye Financial Center.

"If, God forbid, you are put in a situation from which you are not going to recover, you want to keep control over what happens to you," said Frye.

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Such documents are often created alongside an advanced medical directive for physicians, also called a living will, which clarify your wishes regarding end-of-life medical treatment, including resuscitation and organ donation. (Make sure you have a HIPAA form attached, which grants your power of attorney the right to access your medical records, which are protected under privacy laws.)

A durable financial power of attorney document is also necessary, as it identifies the person you'd like to manage your money if you are unable to make decisions for yourself, said Frye. Such legal documents grant that person legal authority to pay taxes on your behalf, borrow money, pay your bills, invest and handle bank transactions.

With higher income-tax rates in effect, tools and techniques that help minimize the income-tax hit to your estate—and your heirs—are playing a far bigger role in estate planning today, said Mendels at Creative Financial Concepts.

Indeed, the top marginal tax rate for wealthy taxpayers now stands at 39.6 percent. Those with higher incomes also face a higher capital gains rate of 20 percent instead of 15 percent, a 0.9 percent tax on earned income (wages) and a 3.8 percent Medicare surtax on net investment income, plus the phaseout of personal exemptions and deductions.

"As estate taxes have come down, the income-tax consequences are much more important," said Mendels.

For example, trusts remain a valuable tool for protecting assets from creditors, legal claims and offspring with poor money-management skills, but due to recent tax-law changes, they could also leave your heirs with less.

Effective in 2013, trusts that accumulate income are now hit with the 3.8 percent Obamacare tax that applies to net investment income. The beneficiaries are also subject to the highest income-tax rate of 39.6 percent and the top capital gains rate of 20 percent on any income received from the trust in excess of $12,150.

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By comparison, the top income-tax rate for individual taxpayers kicks in at $400,000 for single filers and $450,000 for married couples filing jointly.

"Trusts are very versatile, and they can do a lot of things, but these are things that need to be thought through," said Mendels. "Your heirs may end up paying much more income tax by leaving property to them in trust than if you just gave it to them outright."

Drossman at U.S. Trust said income-tax implications, as a component of estate planning, have taken center stage at his firm, too. That, and what he calls "reverse estate planning."

"In some cases we're helping clients unwind or reverse some of the estate planning they had done in the past, because it may no longer be needed, given the significant estate-tax exemption or because it would add to their income-tax cost," he said.

The probability of something happening may not be high, but if it does and you haven't planned, anything is possible, including litigation, higher taxes and complete chaos.
Austin Frye
founder and president of Frye Financial Center

Some families, for example, are taking assets out of trust and giving them outright to their heirs, since they now fall below the estate-tax exemption line. Others created LLCs or family partnerships years ago to facilitate a discounting of assets, but new rules in some cases prevent assets held in such structures to take full of advantage of the step-up in basis.

Remember: Those who inherit appreciated property, including real estate and stocks, receive a step-up in cost basis for tax purposes based on the current market value on the date of the benefactor's death. Thus, the beneficiary could sell the property immediately without incurring a capital gain, or sell it years from now and only owe gains based on its price appreciation from the day they inherited it.

"If held in a discounted entity, they're not stepped up as high as they would have been had they been held outside that entity," said Drossman. "They may no longer want that in place if they don't benefit from any estate-tax savings, and they get a lower basis."

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It's never pleasant to contemplate one's own mortality. But high-net-worth families who fail to plan—and there are many—risk exposing their kids' inheritance to creditors, predators and bitter ex-spouses.

Worse, they leave life's most important decisions—such as who will care for their kids and whether their spouse should pull the plug—in the hands of the courts.

"You have to plan for the worst and hope for the best," said Frye of Frye Financial Center. "The probability of something happening may not be high, but if it does and you haven't planned, anything is possible, including litigation, higher taxes and complete chaos."

—By Shelly Schwartz, special to CNBC.com