Trust & Estate Planning

Beyond Compliance: Architecting a Lasting Legacy

For high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and owners of private enterprises, estate planning is a critical component of a holistic financial strategy. The objective is rarely just the transfer of assets; it is the protection of wealth from excessive taxation, the preservation of family business continuity, and the fulfillment of charitable intentions. As tax laws surrounding gift and estate exemptions remain in flux, proactive planning is the only way to ensure your legacy remains intact.

We provide the technical rigor to protect your family’s future. At Calvetti Ferguson, we act as a strategic bridge between your legal counsel and your financial goals. We provide the institutional-grade tax modeling and trust accounting required to navigate the complexities of the Internal Revenue Code. Our approach ensures that your estate plan is not just a set of documents, but a living strategy that adapts to changing regulations and family dynamics.

A Technical Framework for Wealth Transfer

We provide a comprehensive suite of tax and advisory services designed to minimize the friction of asset transition.

Estate & Gift Tax Mitigation

We use sophisticated tax-planning strategies to maximize the wealth you can pass to the next generation.

• • • Gifting Strategies: Utilizing annual exclusion gifts and lifetime exemption planning to move appreciating assets out of your taxable estate.

    • Advanced Trust Architectures: Providing the technical tax oversight for Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs), Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs), and Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs).

    • Valuation Discounts: Collaborating with our valuation team to apply appropriate minority or lack-of-marketability discounts for transfers of private business interests.

Trust Accounting & Compliance

The administration of a trust requires meticulous record-keeping and a deep understanding of fiduciary tax obligations.

• • • Fiduciary Income Tax Returns (Form 1041): Ensuring that trust income, deductions, and distributions are reported accurately to minimize the tax burden on both the trust and its beneficiaries.

    • Estate Tax Return Preparation (Form 706): Managing the complex filing requirements for federal estate taxes, including the critical “portability” election for surviving spouses.

    • Gift Tax Reporting (Form 709): Documenting lifetime transfers to ensure proper utilization of your unified credit and to establish an audit-ready trail for the IRS.

Specialized Wealth Advisory Areas

We tailor our estate planning services to the unique needs of private wealth and family-held organizations:

• Family Business Succession: Developing the financial and tax architecture to transition leadership and ownership of a company while maintaining operational stability.

• Philanthropic & Charitable Planning: Structuring private foundations or donor-advised funds to align your tax strategy with your social impact goals.

• Post-Mortem Administration: Providing technical support to executors and trustees during the settlement of an estate, ensuring all tax elections are made timely and accurately.

Why Choose Calvetti Ferguson?

We offer the sophisticated technical depth of a national firm with the senior-led discretion and continuity that family wealth requires.

• Multidisciplinary Oversight: We don’t plan in a vacuum. Our estate specialists work alongside our Tax Planning & Strategy and Business Valuation teams to ensure every asset is optimized.

• Private Client & Family Office Focus: We understand the nuances of managing multi-generational wealth and the reporting standards required by sophisticated family offices.

• Proactive Legislative Monitoring: We keep you ahead of “sunset” provisions in the tax code, ensuring your plan is adjusted before significant changes in exemption limits occur.

Ready to Secure Your Generational Legacy?

Don’t let tax complexity or a lack of planning create a bottleneck for your family’s future. Let’s build the transparent, high-integrity estate strategy your legacy deserves. Partner with a firm that understands the intersection of family stewardship and enterprise value.

Contact Our Team