Putting the right people in the right roles
Naming the individuals and institutions authorized to make financial, health-care, guardianship, trustee, and estate-administration decisions when you cannot.
Investment Management Services
what we do
Estate & Legacy Planning
A clear plan for everything you’ve built, the people you care for, and the causes you choose to support, fully coordinated with your investments and tax strategy.
Estate planning puts the right people in the right roles, creates a framework for decisions when you cannot make them yourself, and helps avoid unnecessary conflict, delay, expense, and uncertainty for those left to carry out your wishes.
start here
What is an Estate?
Your estate is everything you own or control: your home, retirement and investment accounts, savings, business interests, personal belongings, and even life insurance you own on your own life.
Large or modest, everyone has one. In time, all of it passes to others; the question is to whom, and on what terms.
what it involves
What is Estate Planning?
Coordinating ownership, beneficiary designations, and documents
Aligning your will, trusts, account registrations, beneficiary designations, insurance, business interests, and other assets so they work together as intended.
Structuring an efficient transfer of wealth
Determining how, when, and under what terms assets pass: while seeking to reduce taxes, settlement costs, administrative burden, and unnecessary exposure to creditors or divorce.
Defining the legacy you intend to leave
Providing for family, supporting charitable causes, and establishing a clear framework for the values, responsibilities, and resources you want to carry forward.
why it matters
Why You Need an Estate Plan
Whatever the size of your estate, a well-designed plan helps ensure that important decisions are made by the right people, your affairs can continue if you become unable to act, and your assets are ultimately distributed with purpose and clarity.
AN ESTATE PLAN EXISTS TO
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01
Maintain control during incapacity
Identify who can make financial and health-care decisions on your behalf if you cannot.
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02
Protect and provide for the people and obligations that matter to you
Support family members, business partners, charitable commitments, and others who rely on your support.
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03
Transfer wealth deliberately and efficiently
Direct assets according to your wishes while reducing avoidable taxes, costs, delays, and family conflict.
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04
Protect children and vulnerable beneficiaries
Name guardians for minor children and establish safeguards for beneficiaries who may need support, oversight, or protection over time.
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05
Preserve continuity for a business or shared interest
Set clear direction for ownership, management, and succession of a family business, real estate holding, or other jointly held asset.
AND ANSWER QUESTIONS LIKE
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01
How do I keep assets in the family and protect them from creditors, divorce, or poor financial decisions?
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02
How do I minimize estate taxes, income taxes, probate costs, and other transfer expenses?
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03
How should a blended family, a family business, or unequal family circumstances change my plan?
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04
Who should be authorized to make decisions if I am unable to do so?
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05
How do I ensure my beneficiary designations, trusts, and ownership structure all work together?
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06
How can I provide for charitable commitments without compromising family objectives?
where estate and tax meet
Massachusetts Taxes Estates Above $2 Million
$2 Million
The Massachusetts estate-tax threshold. Far below the $15M federal exemption.
Massachusetts levies its own estate tax, separate from the federal one, on estates above $2 million. The threshold counts the whole of what you own: your home, your retirement accounts, your investments, and the death benefit on any life insurance you own on your own life.
Traditional retirement accounts compound this. Because the money went in untaxed, it can be taxed twice at death, once within the estate, and again as income when heirs draw it down.
Most of this is easier to address well before it becomes pressing.
Speak with an advisorwhy it is rarely simple
The Complications Worth Getting Ahead Of
Unequal Distributions
Blended families, business interests, and differing financial situations among heirs make fair distribution far from simple without thoughtful structure.
Lifetime Gifting Strategy
Gifting assets during your lifetime can dramatically reduce estate taxes and help heirs when they need it most, but timing and structure matter.
Family Dynamics
Certain family situations call for special consideration in planning: a child with special needs, a beneficiary facing addiction or unable to manage money, or an estranged relative.
Creditor & Divorce Risk
Inherited assets without proper trust structures can be exposed to a beneficiary’s creditors, Lawsuits, or divorce proceedings.
Outdated Documents
Laws change, families evolve, and assets grow. Estate documents drawn up years ago often no longer reflect your wishes or current tax law.
Uncoordinated Beneficiary Designations
Retirement accounts and life insurance pass by the beneficiary form on file, not by your will. A form left unchanged can send major assets to an ex-spouse, or the wrong heir entirely.
Estate Planning for Blended Families
A blended family brings together children and assets from more than one marriage. Providing for a current spouse, for children from an earlier marriage, and for children of this one places competing demands on a single estate. These demands reward careful thought about your priorities, the conflicts that can arise, and how each decision lands on the people you love.
Balancing the needs of each family member is a matter of structure: arrangements that provide for one while preserving what is meant for the others.
the foundation
Putting Your Estate Plan in Place
Our wealth management team assists in implementing and coordinating the legal documents that put your intentions into effect, and in keeping them current as your circumstances change.
FOUNDATIONAL ESTATE PLANNING DOCUMENTS
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01
Last Will And Testament
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02
Durable Financial Power of Attorney
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03
Health Care Directive (Living Will)
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01
Revocable Living Trust
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02
Health Care Power of Attorney (Health Care Proxy)
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03
Guardianship Nomination (if applicable)
Finivi is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice, or draft or review legal documents. All estate planning document preparation and legal advice is provided through select third parties unaffiliated with Finivi: your own attorney, or an attorney in Finivi’s referral network.
The Best Plan is the One That Exists
Whether you have never put a document in place, or have a plan that has not been looked at in years, it begins the same way: a conversation about what you have, whom it is for, and what you want to be certain of. From there, it sits within the same relationship as the rest of your financial life.
STATES WITH AN ESTATE OR INHERITANCE TAX 2026
| TAX | WHERE IT APPLIES |
|---|---|
| Estate tax | Twelve states and the District of Columbia: Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and D.C. |
| Inheritance tax | Five states: Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania |
| Both | Maryland is the only state that levies an estate tax and an inheritance tax |
The remaining states have neither. Iowa’s inheritance tax was phased out for deaths on or after January 1, 2025. Exemption thresholds, rates, and rules differ by state and are subject to change. This summary is for general information and is not tax advice.
This material is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or investment advice, nor a solicitation to buy or sell any security or strategy. Finivi is not a law firm or an accounting firm; it does not provide legal or tax advice or services, and does not draft or review legal documents. All estate planning document preparation and legal advice is provided through select third parties unaffiliated with Finivi: your own attorney, or an attorney in Finivi’s referral network, with whom you would engage directly and who may charge separate fees. Estate and tax figures referenced are current as of 2026, vary by circumstance, and are subject to change; any tax illustration is hypothetical and for education only. Advisory services offered through Finivi Inc., an SEC Registered Investment Advisor.