Retirement is a significant milestone in life that often brings new considerations for estate planning.
Whether you’ve already planned your estate or need trusted guidance for first-time estate planning, it’s important to ensure your wishes are carried out and you leave the legacy you want after death.
At Dugan Brown, our experienced financial advisors primarily work with federal employees for estate planning. As a retired federal employee, we understand you need to carefully consider your options for estate planning with trusted professionals. You can depend on us to guide you through the process to effectively plan or update your estate.
It’s Never Too Late to Plan or Update Your Estate
Ensuring your estate is planned or updated to reflect your current wishes is essential. Properly planning your estate allows you to protect and distribute your assets as you wish after death to ensure your legacy continues.
As a retired federal employee, you may be planning your estate for the first time or updating an estate you planned years ago. Dugan Brown can help you ensure your estate meets your current needs and wishes and minimizes tax burdens for your loved ones.
Without estate planning, your assets may be subject to probate and taxes that can take away from your loved one’s inheritance. Dugan Brown helps you create a plan that reflects your wishes and minimizes the potential for family disputes or unnecessary taxes.
Protecting Government Annuities
Government annuities, such as the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS), are valuable assets to consider in your estate plan. Dugan Brown works with you to ensure these annuities are appropriately accounted for and designated to the intended beneficiaries as part of your estate planning. We can also discuss potential payment options and survivor benefits to help you make informed decisions for your estate.
Creating Trusts as Part of Your Estate Planning
Trusts can be valuable tools for retired federal employees in managing and distributing their assets. Our team helps you understand all your options for creating trusts as part of your estate plan, including revocable living trusts, which can help avoid probate and provide instructions for the distribution of assets, as well as special needs and education trusts, which can be beneficial to ensure financial support for disabled or dependent family members.
Estate Plan Revision and Updating
Even if you had estate planning as part of your federal employment, government agencies cannot make individual recommendations or give advice about your particular financial situation. Therefore, it’s beneficial to have an outside agency review and update your estate plan as necessary after retirement.
Regularly reviewing and updating your estate plan is especially important during different stages of retirement. For example, changes in your financial circumstances, health, family dynamics, or tax laws may require adjustments to your plan.
Our team helps ensure your estate plan stays current and aligns with your goals to protect your assets and family long after you retire.
Choose Dugan Brown for Your Estate Planning
Dugan Brown has experience helping retired federal employees with financial planning and has a deep understanding of how their retirement benefits factor into their estate plans.
We can help you consider naming beneficiaries for your retirement and investment accounts and understand survivor benefit options that may be available to your spouse or dependents.
Our goal is to empower you to leave behind the legacy you want and make informed decisions about your estate. When you work with our trusted professionals, you can expect honesty, integrity, and dedication to your goals.
Schedule Your Free Consultation Today
Whether you need to update your current estate plan or create a new one, Dugan Brown is here to help. Book a free consultation with our experienced financial advisors today to discuss your estate planning options and ensure your loved ones are taken care of.