Many investors spend decades building wealth with great discipline, then leave its transfer to chance. Estate planning is the structural layer that ensures your assets go where you intend, in the manner you choose, with as little friction — and as little tax — as possible.

The Core Documents

A complete estate plan typically includes:

  • Revocable living trust: Allows assets to pass to beneficiaries without probate, maintains privacy, and provides continuity of management if you become incapacitated.
  • Pour-over will: Captures any assets not titled in the trust and directs them into it at death.
  • Durable power of attorney: Designates someone to manage financial affairs if you are unable to do so.
  • Healthcare directive and proxy: Documents your medical preferences and designates someone to make healthcare decisions on your behalf.

Beneficiary Designations

Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and certain bank accounts pass by beneficiary designation — outside of your will or trust entirely. Outdated or misaligned designations are one of the most common estate planning errors. A former spouse, a deceased parent, or a minor child named as beneficiary can create significant legal and tax complications.

The Federal Estate Tax

The current federal estate tax exemption is scheduled to sunset at the end of 2025, potentially reducing the per-person exemption from approximately $13 million to roughly $7 million. For families with significant assets, this creates a planning window that should not be ignored. Strategies such as spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs), irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), and grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) can help transfer wealth efficiently before the exemption decreases.

Coordination Is Everything

Estate planning does not exist in isolation. The most effective plans are built in coordination with investment strategy, tax planning, and business succession planning. Build Capital works alongside clients' estate planning attorneys and CPAs to ensure that the financial and legal dimensions of a plan are fully aligned.