Inheritance Planning Workshop

Estate planning is one piece of inheritance planning. Estate planning focuses on the legal documents: your will, trust, and power of attorney. Inheritance planning goes further. It includes organizing your financial life so your family can find everything, making sure your retirement income does not run out, and putting the legal protections in place to pass what remains to the next generation smoothly. Think of estate planning as the legal layer, and inheritance planning as the full picture.

A will alone typically means your estate goes through probate, which is a court-supervised process that takes time, costs money, and becomes part of the public record. A properly funded trust allows your assets to transfer directly to your beneficiaries without probate. Whether you need a trust depends on the size of your estate, the types of assets you own, and the states where you hold property. That is exactly the kind of question Sean Greenguard addresses in the workshop.

Probate is the legal process by which a court validates your will and supervises the transfer of your assets after you pass. It can take months to years, involves court fees and attorney costs, and is a matter of public record. You can avoid probate by titling assets correctly, naming beneficiaries on accounts, and using a revocable living trust. The key is that your trust must be properly funded, meaning your assets need to actually be re-titled into the trust. This step is what many families miss.

A power of attorney is a legal document that authorizes someone you trust to act on your behalf. A financial power of attorney covers your bank accounts, investments, and financial decisions. A healthcare power of attorney, sometimes called a healthcare proxy, covers medical decisions if you cannot make them yourself. Without both, your family may need to go to court to get legal authority to help you, even with the best intentions. Having both documents in place protects you and protects them.

No. Your initial inheritance planning session with an American Retirement Advisors advisor is at no cost to you and comes with no obligation. We will walk you through where you are, where you need to be, and what steps make sense for your situation. You decide what, if anything, you would like to do next.

Yes. Many families come to American Retirement Advisors with documents that were written 10 or 15 years ago and have not been reviewed since. Life changes, tax law changes, and your trust may no longer reflect your wishes or take advantage of current planning strategies. American Retirement Advisors coordinates with your existing estate attorney or can introduce you to Sean Greenguard at Greenguard Law Firm for a legal review. The planning session is a good first step to understand what you have and where the gaps are.