High-Achiever, Low-Drama Planning.

Estate Planning for Executives, Entrepreneurs, Exited Founders, Heirs & Atypical Retirees (NJ)

 
Complex wealth shouldn’t mean complex chaos. Convert success into a private, tax-savvy, fully funded plan that actually works at the bank, the brokerage, the hospital, and the courthouse.

NJ Estate Planning for Executives, Founders, Heirs & Early Retirees

Liquidity events, equity comp, QSBS, business interests, trusts for adult heirs, family governance, philanthropy, and New Jersey–specific probate/tax realities—designed, drafted, funded, and maintained.

You’ve built (or inherited) something big. Maybe you cashed out of a business, IPO/SPAC’d, or stepped back early. Maybe you’re a corporate executive with layered equity, or an heir with family entities, trusts, and advisors. These profiles share the same risk: fragmented paperwork and unfunded trusts that crumble in a crisis—sending families into public, creditor-first NJ probate (a realistic 3–7% administrative drag once you add commissions, legal/accounting fees, bond premiums, appraisals, and delays).

Our job is to turn complexity into clear governance, tax-aware structure, and ironclad funding—so your plan performs on the worst day, not just the best spreadsheet.

Acronyms You’ll See

  • RLT — Revocable Living Trust: your private, changeable hub (avoids probate if funded).

  • CST/QTIP — Credit Shelter Trust / Qualified Terminable Interest Property: married-couple tax/protection trusts; often paired with a Clayton election for post-mortem sizing.

  • DSUE — Deceased Spousal Unused Exclusion (portability): preserved via Form 706.

  • SRT — Stand-Alone Retirement Trust: SECURE-Act–aware (usually accumulation) for IRAs/401(k)s.

  • ILIT — Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust: keeps life proceeds estate-tax-free; uses Crummey notices.

  • QSBS §1202 / 83(b): qualified small-business stock exclusion / early-exercise election.

  • QSST/ESBT: S-corp-friendly trust elections.

  • SLAT/IDGT/GRAT/QPRT: advanced wealth-transfer tools.

  • DAF/CRT/CLT: donor-advised fund; charitable remainder/lead trusts.

What Your Plan Must Do

Protect the enterprise and the family. Your RLT becomes the hub; we fund it (deeds, titles, beneficiary changes), and bolt on purpose-built trusts where they add value. Married? We deploy CST/QTIP + Clayton and file Form 706 for portability (DSUE)—so we can balance transfer-tax shelter with income-tax basis, after we see real post-mortem numbers. Retirement dollars route to an SRT to pace SECURE-Act taxation and preserve protection. Liquidity and concentrated risk are managed with ILITs and, where indicated, CRT/DAF philanthropy. Rentals sit in LLCs owned by your RLT; shore-house rules go in writing to prevent wars. Then we maintain everything through AMP (Annual Maintenance Program) or CCP (Continuing Counsel Plan).

Profiles We Serve 

Executives (RSUs/ISOs/NSOs, 10b5-1 Windows)

Equity vests don’t wait for probate. We coordinate 10b5-1 plans, blackout windows, and insider policies with your RLT, put beneficiary-safe instructions around brokerage and retirement, and stage charitable moves (DAF/CRT) for low-basis stock. If S-corp exposure exists anywhere, we draft QSST/ESBT eligibility so the trust can legally hold shares.

Entrepreneurs & Recently Exited Founders

Pre-sale, we may gift minority slices to CRT or dynasty trusts; post-sale, we de-risk concentration, calibrate ILIT liquidity, and install family-governance (board seats, voting/non-voting, investment committee charters). We memorialize “who decides what” so your wealth doesn’t default to whoever speaks loudest.

Heirs & Inheritors (Sudden or Multi-Gen Wealth)

We inventory entities, legacy trusts, and distribution standards; then we ring-fence your personal plan with an RLT and lifetime trusts for your heirs (HEMS standard, incentives, limited powers of appointment). If you’re receiving trusts, we coordinate trust-to-trust planning, tax residency, and QSST/ESBT where family S-corps are involved.

Atypical/Early Retirees (FIRE, Crypto, Concentrated Assets)

We stabilize income (SRT pacing, Roth conversion windows), segregate risky assets in LLCs, and design charitable and insurance layers to turn volatility into predictable family outcomes.

Five Critical Design Zones

Where Plans Win Or Fail

  1. Marital Architecture:

    • CST/QTIP + Clayton for post-mortem sizing; reverse QTIP for GST if we’re building dynasty layers.

    • Second/third marriages: QTIP supports the survivor while preserving your chosen remainders.

  2. Retirement & SECURE Act:

    • SRT (accumulation) as beneficiary; coordinate bracket management, Roth conversions, and charitable offsets.

    • Avoid conduit language that forces fast, exposed payouts.

  3. Business Interests & Entities:

    • Keep operating liability at the LLC/LP level; your RLT owns equity.

    • Bake in buy-sell, capital-call, key-person, drag/tag, and manager-succession triggers for incapacity/death (lenders love this).

  4. Risk, Liquidity & Insurance:

    • ILIT for estate-tax-free liquidity; Crummey process run via AMP/CCP.

    • For low-basis stock/real estate, model CRT to create lifetime income; send the remainder to a DAF for family-guided giving.

  5. Real Estate (Primary, Shore, Rentals, Commercial):

    • Deed personal homes to the RLT (NJ Bargain & Sale Deed); rentals in LLCs owned by the RLT. 

New Jersey–Specific Touchpoints

  • Probate Is Public & Creditor-First: expect 3–7% friction without a funded RLT.

  • Deeds: insurers/title prefer Bargain & Sale; we reserve quitclaim for narrow, title-approved cleanups.

  • Inheritance Tax: Class A (spouse/lineal) is exempt; siblings/nieces/nephews/friends/charities require timing and class-aware design.

  • Elective Share: we respect NJ spousal rights while honoring blended-family intent.

Mortgages, Loans & Credit

How Debt Fits Your Plan

Debt doesn’t disappear at death—documents must say who pays and from where.

  • Mortgages/HELOCs: Moving a primary residence into your RLT generally fits Garn–St. Germain protections; we still confirm with the servicer. For reverse mortgages, lenders often require title out of trust or specific trust language—we coordinate in advance so you don’t breach covenants.

  • Rental/Commercial Debt: We keep loans at the entity (LLC) level; your RLT owns the equity. Operating agreements spell out succession so lenders don’t panic on incapacity/death.

  • Consumer/Margin Loans: We inventory liabilities, set debt-allocation clauses in your Will/Trust (which share bears what), and ensure your successor has immediate authority to negotiate/close accounts.

  • Credit Hygiene: We equip your agent/trustee with authority to place fraud alerts, freeze credit if needed, and access statements—small steps that prevent big headaches.

Philanthropy that Multiplies Results

DAF for one-receipt simplicity and successor-advisor continuity; CRT to transform low-basis assets into lifetime income (you/spouse/other) with a charitable remainder; CLT where lead-first wealth transfer gains leverage. We draft a one-page family giving policy so the next generation understands values and process.

Common Pitfalls We Fix

When Second-Opinions are Crucial

  • Unfunded RLTs (probate anyway).

  • Old conduit IRA language (post-SECURE Act tax blow-ups).

  • QSBS mishandled in trusts; lost §1202 benefits.

  • S-corp stock in ineligible trusts (no QSST/ESBT elections).

  • ILITs with missing Crummey notices (gift-tax problems).

  • Shore house left “to the kids” with no rules (partition actions, fire-sale outcomes).

  • Beneficiary forms that fight the plan (wrong people, wrong trusts, wrong timing).

How We Work

Design → Draft → Fund → Maintain

Design & Discovery Meeting (DDM): map people, entities, equity comp, pensions/benefits, real estate, liquidity, risk, and goals.
Draft: RLT suite; CST/QTIP + Clayton; SRT; ILIT/CRT/DAF; SLAT/IDGT/GRAT/QPRT when they earn their keep; governance charters.
Fund: deeds recorded, entities papered, accounts retitled, beneficiary forms updated (retirement, insurance, annuities), ILIT Crummey calendar active.
Maintain: AMP (annual scorecard, funding/beneficiary audit, trustee training) or CCP (quarterly Advisor Summits with CPA/EA and CFP®/RIA; ILIT/SRT/charitable compliance; QSST/ESBT monitoring).

Quick FAQs

Can a trust hold my vested/unvested equity?
We coordinate assignments and custodial policies; vested shares and proceeds flow to your RLT; we respect plan and insider rules.

Will a trust ruin my QSBS?
Handled early and correctly, trusts can preserve §1202 benefits. We map timing, holding periods, and donee eligibility before moving shares.

Do I really need an SRT?
If you want protection and SECURE-Act tax pacing for heirs, yes. Accumulation SRTs let us manage brackets and preserve guardrails.

We’re a blended family. Who controls what?
QTIP supports your spouse; CST shelters tax; your children remain the remainder beneficiaries—spelled out in plain English.

Book A Strategy Call

Book A Strategy Call. Bring your cap table, vesting schedules, pension elections, beneficiary printouts, and deeds. We’ll show you how to turn complexity into clarity, deliver documents banks and hospitals will honor, fund every piece, and keep it current—so success becomes a family asset, not a family fight.

Seem Confusing or Overwhelming? We do it ALL for you!
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