TAX AND FINANCIAL PLANNING IN LEAWOOD, KANSAS

Current tax laws provide substantial exemptions and deductions, but they must be claimed correctly and strategically. We help you maximize the federal estate tax exemption, annual gift tax exclusions ($18,000 per person in 2024), charitable deductions, step-up in basis benefits, and spousal transfer exemptions. Proper coordination ensures no valuable tax benefits are left unused.

Certain tax planning strategies also provide asset protection benefits. Irrevocable trusts, family limited partnerships, and properly structured entities can shield assets from creditors, lawsuits, and financial risks while providing tax advantages. You get dual benefits: tax savings and asset protection.

Tax laws change frequently, and future changes are unpredictable. Strategic planning builds flexibility into your estate through techniques like disclaimer trusts, formula clauses, and adaptable trust provisions. As laws change, your plan adapts without requiring complete restructuring.

Charitable giving can provide income tax deductions, estate tax reductions, capital gains tax avoidance, and income stream opportunities. Strategies like charitable remainder trusts allow you to support causes you care about while receiving income, tax deductions, and estate tax benefits simultaneously.

No, Kansas has no state estate tax or inheritance tax, simplifying estate planning compared to the 12 states and District of Columbia that impose such taxes. This means Kansas residents only face federal estate tax (on estates exceeding $13.61 million in 2024) without additional state-level taxation on wealth transfers. However, Kansas residents owning real estate or tangible property in states with estate or inheritance taxes (such as Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, or Hawaii) may owe state estate taxes to those jurisdictions even though they’re Kansas residents.

Kansas repealed its estate tax in 2010, previously imposing tax on estates exceeding $1 million. If you own property in multiple states, each state’s estate tax applies to property located there, potentially requiring ancillary probate and state estate tax filings in each jurisdiction. Throughout Johnson County and Wyandotte County, we help clients with multi-state property coordinate estate planning to address both federal estate tax and potential state estate taxes in other jurisdictions.

Estate tax is assessed on the deceased person’s entire estate before distribution to heirs, while inheritance tax is imposed on individual beneficiaries based on what they inherit and their relationship to the deceased. These are two completely different taxes, though both relate to wealth transfer at death.

Estate tax is paid by the estate itself from estate assets before anything passes to beneficiaries. The federal estate tax applies to estates exceeding $13.61 million ($27.22 million for married couples in 2024), taxing amounts over the threshold at 40%. The estate pays this tax through the executor, and beneficiaries receive what’s left after the estate tax is paid. Kansas has no state estate tax. Inheritance tax is paid by individual beneficiaries on what they personally receive, often with rates varying based on relationship to the deceased—spouses and children typically pay lower rates or are exempt, while distant relatives or non-relatives pay higher rates. Six states impose inheritance taxes: Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Kansas has no inheritance tax.

Over 27 years, our tax planning strategies have saved Kansas clients an average of over $500,000 in estate taxes. Gary Eastman’s unique combination of a J.D. (law degree) and M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Kansas provides the dual expertise essential for sophisticated tax planning. We’ve served 5,407 estate planning clients, creating 5,423 trusts and 1,257 wills, with strategies ranging from basic exemption planning for modest estates to sophisticated trust structures and charitable planning for families with over $100 million in assets. Gary’s three years at Polsinelli (a top 100 AmLaw firm) where he worked on over 500 transactions ranging from $500,000 to $10 million exposed him to Fortune 500-level tax strategies. We return calls within 60 minutes during business hours and complete most planning engagements within 4 weeks on average.

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Tax planning is typically integrated with estate planning services, with comprehensive packages ranging from $1,995 for individuals to $8,000+ for complex multi-generational strategies requiring advanced trust structures and business succession planning. Most clients’ tax planning needs are addressed within standard estate planning fees: our basic will packages ($495 individual, $895 couple) include fundamental tax considerations like beneficiary designations and exemption planning, while our trust packages ($1,995 individual, $2,495 couple) incorporate step-up in basis planning, probate avoidance, and basic gift strategies.

Advanced tax planning for high-net-worth estates ($5 million+) requiring sophisticated strategies—irrevocable trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), charitable remainder trusts, family limited partnerships, or valuation discount strategies—typically ranges from $5,000 to $15,000 depending on complexity. Business succession tax planning coordinating entity restructuring, buy-sell agreements, and wealth transfer strategies ranges from $3,500 to $10,000+. Ongoing tax planning reviews and updates (recommended every 3 to 5 years) typically cost $500 to $1,500 depending on the scope of changes needed. We provide transparent pricing during initial consultations after understanding your assets, goals, and planning complexity.

We actively monitor federal and state tax law changes, track proposed legislation affecting estate planning, and proactively contact clients when law changes impact their plans. Recent significant changes we’ve helped clients navigate include the SECURE Act’s 10-year distribution rule for inherited retirement accounts (2020), increased federal estate tax exemptions under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2018 to 2025), and the upcoming 2026 exemption sunset requiring action before December 31, 2025. With Gary Eastman’s M.B.A. in Finance and 27 years of practice, we understand both the legal and financial implications of tax law changes.

We regularly review client estate plans to ensure they remain optimized under current law, recommend updates when beneficial, and coordinate with CPAs to ensure estate planning strategies align with annual tax returns. For example, the 2026 exemption reduction from $13.61 million to approximately $7 million creates urgency for high-net-worth clients to implement gifting strategies now. Throughout Johnson County and Wyandotte County, we ensure clients benefit from current tax law while preparing for anticipated changes.

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The federal estate tax exemption is $13.61 million per individual in 2024 (adjusted annually for inflation), allowing married couples to protect up to $27.22 million through portability. Assets exceeding the exemption are taxed at 40% federal rate. This historically high exemption sunsets December 31, 2025, and will drop to approximately $7 million per person (inflation-adjusted) on January 1, 2026, unless Congress acts to extend it. This creates urgency for high-net-worth individuals to use the current exemption through gifting strategies before it potentially decreases by nearly half.

Strategies to utilize the current exemption before sunset include making large lifetime gifts up to $13.61 million per person (removes assets and future appreciation from estate), creating spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs) allowing continued indirect benefit from gifted assets, funding irrevocable life insurance trusts with large life insurance policies, and transferring business interests or real estate using valuation discounts. If you wait until 2026 and the exemption drops to $7 million, the difference ($6.61 million per person or $13.22 million per couple) becomes taxable at 40%, potentially costing an additional $2.6 to $5.3 million in estate taxes.

The estate tax exemption is the amount you can pass to beneficiaries at death without owing federal estate tax—$13.61 million per individual ($27.22 million for married couples) in 2024. Assets exceeding the exemption are taxed at 40% federal rate. The exemption adjusts annually for inflation, increasing to $13.99 million in 2025. Kansas has no state estate tax, so only the federal exemption applies to Kansas residents. However, the current high exemption sunsets December 31, 2025, dropping to approximately $7 million per person on January 1, 2026, unless Congress extends it.

Married couples can combine exemptions through portability (allowing the surviving spouse to use the deceased spouse’s unused exemption) or trust planning (creating trusts at the first spouse’s death that utilize their full exemption). Portability requires filing Form 706 within nine months of death even if no estate tax is owed. Throughout Johnson County and Wyandotte County, we help clients maximize exemptions through strategic planning before the 2026 sunset.

Estate tax minimization involves using the federal exemption ($13.61 million in 2024), making lifetime gifts, establishing trusts, and coordinating beneficiary designations with your overall estate plan. Key strategies include maximizing annual exclusion gifts ($18,000 per recipient in 2024), using irrevocable trusts to remove assets from your taxable estate, making charitable contributions that reduce estate size while supporting causes you care about, and taking advantage of valuation discounts when transferring business or real estate interests. With the exemption scheduled to drop to approximately $7 million in 2026, high-net-worth individuals should act before the window closes.

Additional strategies include life insurance owned by irrevocable trusts (removing death benefits from your estate), grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) for transferring appreciation, qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs) for gifting your home while retaining use, and spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs) providing continued access to gifted assets. With Gary Eastman’s M.B.A. in Finance and 27 years throughout Johnson County and Wyandotte County, we coordinate multiple strategies to minimize estate taxes while maintaining your financial security and control.

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We integrate tax planning by analyzing your complete financial picture and structuring estate documents to minimize income tax, capital gains tax, and estate tax consequences. This includes coordinating with your CPA and financial advisors to ensure strategies align with your tax returns, investments, and retirement planning. We address both immediate implications (income tax on trust income, capital gains on transfers) and long-term efficiency (estate tax minimization, generation-skipping transfer tax, beneficiary income tax planning).

Specific strategies include gifting using annual exclusion ($18,000 per person in 2024) and lifetime exemption ($13.61 million in 2024), structuring trusts to minimize taxation while achieving goals, coordinating retirement account beneficiaries with tax strategy, maximizing step-up in basis at death, using irrevocable life insurance trusts to remove proceeds from taxable estates, implementing charitable giving (charitable remainder trusts, qualified charitable distributions), and structuring business succession to minimize capital gains and estate taxes. With Gary Eastman’s M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Kansas, we work closely with CPAs throughout Johnson County and Wyandotte County to ensure tax-efficient estate planning.

We ensure tax efficiency by analyzing your complete financial situation before drafting documents, coordinating estate planning with existing tax strategies, and structuring transfers to minimize federal estate tax, capital gains tax, and income tax consequences. This includes reviewing retirement account beneficiary designations (IRAs and 401(k)s often have significant tax implications), analyzing asset basis and timing transfers to maximize step-up in basis benefits, evaluating life insurance ownership and beneficiary structures, coordinating charitable giving for income tax deductions, and ensuring business succession plans minimize capital gains and estate taxes.

We work closely with your CPA and financial advisor to ensure estate planning strategies complement your tax returns and investment planning rather than creating conflicts. For example, improperly structured trusts can trigger unnecessary income taxes, incorrect beneficiary designations can waste tax deferral opportunities on retirement accounts, and poorly timed gifting can miss valuation discount opportunities. With Gary Eastman’s M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Kansas and 27 years creating tax-efficient estate plans throughout Johnson County and Wyandotte County, we identify tax optimization opportunities many document-focused attorneys miss. Kansas has no state estate tax, so our planning focuses on federal estate tax (for estates exceeding $13.61 million) and income tax efficiency for you and your beneficiaries.

Step-up in basis is a tax rule that resets the “cost basis” of inherited assets to their fair market value on the date of death, eliminating all capital gains tax on appreciation that occurred during the deceased person’s lifetime. For example, if you purchased stock for $50,000 that’s now worth $500,000, your heirs inherit it with a $500,000 basis. If they sell immediately, they owe no capital gains tax on the $450,000 appreciation. Without step-up in basis, they’d owe capital gains tax on the entire $450,000 gain (potentially $107,100 in federal tax at 23.8% rates).

Step-up in basis makes keeping appreciated assets until death often more tax-efficient than gifting during lifetime (lifetime gifts carry over your low basis, triggering capital gains when recipients sell). Assets receiving step-up include real estate, stocks, business interests, and other capital assets. Assets that don’t receive step-up include retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s) and assets in certain irrevocable trusts where you retained too much control. Strategic planning involves balancing lifetime gifting to reduce estate size against holding appreciated assets to maximize step-up benefits.

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Gifting during lifetime reduces your taxable estate by transferring wealth to beneficiaries before death, utilizing annual exclusion gifts ($18,000 per recipient in 2024) and lifetime exemption ($13.61 million in 2024) to avoid gift and estate taxes. Annual exclusion gifts are the most tax-efficient strategy—you can give $18,000 per person per year to unlimited recipients without filing gift tax returns or using lifetime exemption. A married couple can give $36,000 per recipient annually ($18,000 each). Over time, this removes significant wealth from your estate: gifting $36,000 annually to three children for 10 years removes $1,080,000 plus all future appreciation on those gifts.

Beyond annual exclusion gifts, you can use lifetime exemption for larger transfers ($13.61 million individual, $27.22 million couple in 2024), though this exemption may decrease in future years. Advanced strategies include gifting rapidly appreciating assets (business interests, real estate) to transfer future appreciation out of your estate, using valuation discounts (family limited partnerships holding assets can be gifted at 20% to 40% discounts due to lack of control and marketability), making gifts directly to educational institutions or medical providers (unlimited amounts, no gift tax), and funding 529 plans with five years of annual exclusion gifts at once ($90,000 per beneficiary in 2024).

Gifting strategies can significantly reduce your taxable estate by transferring wealth to beneficiaries during your lifetime, utilizing annual exclusion gifts and lifetime exemption without gift tax. The annual exclusion ($18,000 per recipient in 2024) allows unlimited tax-free gifts—you can give $18,000 to as many people as you want each year. Married couples can combine exclusions to gift $36,000 per recipient annually. Over time, this removes substantial wealth: gifting $36,000 annually to three children for 10 years removes $1,080,000 plus all future appreciation.

Beyond annual exclusion gifts, larger gifts use your lifetime exemption ($13.61 million in 2024), though using exemption now may make sense given the scheduled 2026 reduction to approximately $7 million. Strategic gifting includes transferring rapidly appreciating assets (removing future appreciation from your estate), funding 529 plans with five years of gifts at once ($90,000 in 2024), making direct payments to educational institutions or medical providers (unlimited, no gift tax), and using valuation discounts when gifting business or real estate interests.

Inherited retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s) have complex tax implications depending on your relationship to the deceased and when they died. Under the SECURE Act (effective 2020), most non-spouse beneficiaries must withdraw the entire inherited account within 10 years of death, paying income tax on withdrawals at ordinary income rates (not capital gains rates). This eliminates the old “stretch IRA” strategy that allowed beneficiaries to take required minimum distributions over their lifetimes. Exceptions allowing lifetime stretch: surviving spouses, minor children (until age of majority), disabled or chronically ill beneficiaries, and beneficiaries less than 10 years younger than the deceased.

Tax planning strategies for retirement accounts include spousal rollovers (surviving spouses can roll inherited accounts into their own IRAs, delaying distributions until their required beginning date), Roth conversions during lifetime (paying taxes now at potentially lower rates so heirs inherit tax-free Roth accounts), strategic beneficiary designations (naming trusts as beneficiaries for asset protection while maintaining tax deferral options), and qualified charitable distributions (donors age 70½+ can give up to $105,000 annually from IRAs directly to charity, avoiding income tax). Kansas has no state income tax on retirement distributions, so planning focuses on federal income tax and estate tax implications.

Retirement accounts pass to your named beneficiaries outside of probate and are subject to income tax (not estate tax for most estates). Spouse beneficiaries have the most flexibility—they can roll inherited accounts into their own IRAs, delaying required distributions until their own retirement age. Non-spouse beneficiaries (children, grandchildren, siblings) generally must withdraw the entire inherited account within 10 years under the SECURE Act, paying ordinary income tax on distributions. This eliminates the old “stretch IRA” strategy that allowed lifetime distributions.

Exceptions to the 10-year rule include minor children (until age of majority), disabled or chronically ill beneficiaries, and beneficiaries less than 10 years younger than you. Strategic planning involves Roth conversions during your lifetime (heirs inherit tax-free), proper beneficiary designations coordinated with your estate plan, and potentially naming trusts as beneficiaries for asset protection while preserving tax deferral. Throughout Johnson County and Wyandotte County, we coordinate retirement account planning with overall estate strategy to minimize tax burdens on your beneficiaries.

No, heirs do not pay income tax on most inherited assets—inheritances are generally not taxable income to beneficiaries. This is one of the most common misconceptions in estate planning. When you inherit cash, real estate, stocks, or personal property, you receive it income tax-free regardless of the amount. There is no federal inheritance tax, and Kansas has no state inheritance tax or estate tax.

However, there are important exceptions where beneficiaries do pay income tax: Inherited retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s) are taxable when distributed—beneficiaries pay ordinary income tax on withdrawals, not on the inheritance itself. Under the SECURE Act, most non-spouse beneficiaries must withdraw inherited retirement accounts within 10 years, paying income tax on each distribution. Income in respect of a decedent (IRD) includes unpaid salary, bonuses, deferred compensation, and installment sale payments owed to the deceased—these generate taxable income when received. Investment income earned after inheritance is taxable—if you inherit stock and it pays dividends, or you sell it for a gain, that income is taxable (though you benefit from stepped-up basis eliminating capital gains on appreciation during the deceased’s lifetime).

Roth conversions can significantly reduce your beneficiaries’ tax burden by paying income taxes now (at your potentially lower rates) so heirs inherit tax-free accounts instead of tax-deferred accounts. When you convert traditional IRA or 401(k) assets to Roth, you pay income tax on the converted amount immediately, but all future growth and distributions are tax-free. This is especially valuable if you expect your beneficiaries to be in higher tax brackets than you, if tax rates increase in the future, or if you have other assets to pay the conversion tax without reducing the retirement account balance.

Roth conversions also eliminate required minimum distributions during your lifetime (traditional IRAs require distributions starting at age 73), though inherited Roths still face the 10-year distribution rule. Strategic conversion planning considers your current tax bracket, Social Security taxation, Medicare premium impacts (IRMAA), and multi-year conversion schedules to avoid bracket creep. With Gary Eastman’s M.B.A. in Finance, we coordinate Roth conversion strategies with your CPA throughout Johnson County and Wyandotte County, analyzing whether conversions make sense for your specific tax and estate planning situation.

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Revocable living trusts provide no income tax or estate tax advantages during your lifetime—they’re “tax neutral” because you retain complete control and pay taxes on trust income as if you owned assets personally. The tax benefits come at death: assets in properly funded trusts avoid probate (saving 8 to 12 months and $5,000 to $10,000+ in costs), transfer to beneficiaries with step-up in basis (eliminating capital gains tax on appreciation during your lifetime), and allow continued tax-deferred growth if the trust holds retirement accounts as beneficiary. Kansas has no state estate tax or inheritance tax, so trust planning focuses on federal estate tax minimization and income tax efficiency.

Irrevocable trusts provide stronger tax advantages by removing assets from your taxable estate (important for estates exceeding $13.61 million federal exemption), generating income taxed to beneficiaries rather than you (potentially at lower rates), and creating valuation discounts when gifting business or real estate interests to family limited partnerships held in trust (reducing gift and estate taxes by 20% to 40%). Trade-off: you lose control and access to assets in irrevocable trusts.

Certain trusts reduce taxes, but not all trusts provide tax benefits—the tax impact depends entirely on the type of trust and how it’s structured. Revocable living trusts are “tax neutral” during your lifetime (you pay all income and capital gains taxes as if the trust doesn’t exist) but provide estate tax benefits at death by avoiding probate and facilitating distributions. Irrevocable trusts provide stronger tax advantages by removing assets from your taxable estate (reducing estate tax for estates exceeding $13.61 million exemption), shifting income to beneficiaries potentially in lower tax brackets, and creating valuation discounts when gifting business or real estate interests.

Specific tax-reducing trusts include charitable remainder trusts (immediate income tax deduction, avoiding capital gains on donated assets, removing assets from estate), grantor retained annuity trusts or GRATs (transferring appreciation to beneficiaries tax-free), qualified personal residence trusts or QPRTs (gifting your home at reduced value while living there), and irrevocable life insurance trusts or ILITs (removing life insurance proceeds from taxable estate). Trade-off: trusts providing the strongest tax benefits require giving up control over assets.

Charitable donations to qualified 501(c)(3) organizations are fully deductible from your taxable estate, reducing estate tax liability dollar-for-dollar. For estates exceeding the federal exemption ($13.61 million in 2024), charitable bequests reduce the 40% estate tax on amounts over the threshold. Beyond simple bequests in your will, strategic charitable giving includes charitable remainder trusts (providing lifetime income to you while donating remainder to charity), charitable lead trusts (providing income to charity for years, then passing assets to heirs with reduced gift tax), and donor-advised funds (immediate tax deduction, flexible future giving).

Charitable remainder trusts offer multiple benefits: immediate income tax deduction for the present value of the charitable remainder, avoidance of capital gains tax when contributing appreciated assets (stock, real estate), lifetime income stream for you or beneficiaries, and estate tax deduction for assets passing to charity. Qualified charitable distributions from IRAs (up to $105,000 annually for donors age 70½+) satisfy required minimum distributions without generating taxable income.

A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a charitable giving account that provides an immediate income tax deduction when you contribute, while allowing you to recommend grants to charities over time. You contribute cash, stocks, or other assets to the DAF, receive an immediate tax deduction for the full fair market value (subject to AGI limitations), and then recommend distributions to qualified charities whenever you want—immediately, gradually over years, or even posthumously. Assets grow tax-free within the DAF, potentially allowing larger charitable impact over time.

DAF benefits for estate planning include removing assets from your taxable estate (contributions are complete charitable gifts), avoiding capital gains tax on donated appreciated assets (donate stock instead of selling it), naming successor advisors (children can continue your charitable legacy), and flexibility compared to private foundations (no required distributions, lower costs, simpler administration). DAFs work particularly well when you receive a windfall (business sale, stock appreciation, inheritance) generating large income tax liability—the immediate deduction offsets the income while you decide on charitable distributions over time.

A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged college savings account that grows tax-free and can be withdrawn tax-free for qualified education expenses, while also providing estate planning benefits through accelerated gifting. Contributions to 529 plans remove assets from your taxable estate, and the special “accelerated gifting” rule allows you to contribute five years of annual exclusion gifts at once ($90,000 in 2024, or $180,000 for married couples) without using lifetime exemption or filing gift tax returns. This rapidly removes substantial assets from your estate while funding education for children or grandchildren.

Additional 529 benefits include tax-free growth (no income tax on investment earnings if used for qualified expenses), flexibility (can change beneficiaries among family members), and recent expansion allowing up to $10,000 annually for K-12 tuition. Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, unused 529 funds can now be transferred to a Roth IRA for the beneficiary (subject to limits), providing additional flexibility.

Business interests often represent significant estate value but produce little liquidity to pay estate taxes, potentially forcing heirs to sell the business to pay the IRS. Strategies to reduce business estate taxes include family limited partnerships (gifting interests at 20% to 40% valuation discounts), grantor retained annuity trusts (transferring appreciation while retaining income), installment sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts (freezing estate value), lifetime gifting using annual exclusion and lifetime exemption, and employee stock ownership plans (tax-deferred sale to employees).

Most effective planning combines multiple strategies with proper business valuation and life insurance in irrevocable trusts to provide estate tax liquidity. With Gary Eastman’s M.B.A. in Finance and business transaction experience at Polsinelli (500+ deals, $500K to $10M range), we structure business succession plans minimizing estate taxes throughout Johnson County and Wyandotte County.

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Portability allows a surviving spouse to use their deceased spouse’s unused federal estate tax exemption, potentially protecting up to $27.22 million for a married couple in 2024. However, portability requires filing a federal estate tax return (Form 706) within nine months of death even if no estate tax is owed, and the unused exemption amount is locked at the first spouse’s death (doesn’t adjust for inflation). While portability provides flexibility, it has significant limitations: doesn’t apply to generation-skipping transfer tax, offers no asset protection from creditors or remarriage, provides no protection for state estate taxes (in states that impose them), and can be lost if the surviving spouse remarries and their new spouse dies.

Trust-based planning provides advantages portability doesn’t: asset protection from creditors and lawsuits, protection if surviving spouse remarries or experiences cognitive decline, generation-skipping transfer tax planning, continued growth outside the taxable estate, and guaranteed preservation of the exemption regardless of future law changes. Most comprehensive estate plans use both portability (as backup) and trust planning (as primary strategy).

You can gift your house, but it’s usually tax-inefficient because your children inherit your low cost basis, potentially creating substantial capital gains tax when they sell. For example, if you purchased your home for $200,000 and it’s now worth $800,000, gifting transfers your $200,000 basis to your children. When they sell for $800,000, they owe capital gains tax on $600,000 gain (potentially $143,000 at 23.8% rates). If they inherit instead, they receive stepped-up basis of $800,000 and owe no capital gains tax on the appreciation during your lifetime.

Additional downsides of gifting your home include losing control of the property, potential gift tax filing requirements (homes typically exceed $18,000 annual exclusion), and Medicaid look-back issues if you need nursing home care within five years. Better alternatives include qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs) allowing you to gift your home while retaining the right to live there for a term of years, reducing estate value while maintaining control, or simply keeping the home in your estate to preserve step-up in basis.

Yes, trusts provide significant benefits beyond estate tax savings, making them valuable even for estates well under the $13.61 million federal exemption. Most Kansas families establish trusts primarily to avoid probate (saving 8 to 12 months and $5,000 to $10,000+ in costs), maintain complete privacy (probate becomes public record), provide incapacity management if you become unable to handle finances, and control asset distribution to beneficiaries (protecting inheritances from divorces, creditors, or poor decisions). Estate tax planning is actually a secondary benefit for most clients—the probate avoidance and asset protection benefits justify trust planning regardless of estate size.

Additional trust benefits include protecting beneficiaries from their own creditors and lawsuits, flexibility if the estate tax exemption decreases (scheduled to drop to approximately $7 million in 2026), professional management if beneficiaries lack financial sophistication, and special needs planning without disqualifying government benefits. Over 27 years, we’ve created 5,423 trusts throughout Johnson County and Wyandotte County, with the vast majority for estates under the federal exemption threshold. Trust planning makes sense for anyone with real estate, business interests, or desire to avoid probate and protect beneficiaries.

Start tax planning as soon as you accumulate significant assets, inherit wealth, start a business, receive substantial income increases, or approach retirement—the earlier you plan, the more options you have and the more you can save. Ideal times to begin include when your estate exceeds $5 million (positioning for potential future estate tax concerns), when you receive or anticipate a windfall (business sale, inheritance, stock options vesting, real estate appreciation), when starting or growing a business (entity structuring and succession planning have significant tax implications), approaching retirement (Roth conversion opportunities, required minimum distribution planning, Medicare premium considerations), and after major life events (marriage, divorce, birth of children, death of family members).

Critical timing consideration: The federal estate tax exemption is scheduled to drop from $13.61 million to approximately $7 million on January 1, 2026, creating urgency for high-net-worth individuals to implement gifting strategies before this window closes. Using the current higher exemption through lifetime gifts can save families millions in future estate taxes, but you must act before December 31, 2025. Even if you’re not facing immediate estate tax concerns, earlier planning provides more flexibility: gradual gifting programs remove wealth from your estate over time, business succession planning requires years to implement effectively, Roth conversion strategies work best when spread over multiple years to manage tax brackets, and asset protection structures are more effective when implemented before claims or creditor issues arise.

It’s rarely too late for tax planning. While earlier planning provides more options, significant tax savings and estate planning benefits can be achieved at any stage of life. Even in late life or declining health, strategies remain available: executing a will or trust (if you have capacity, you can create enforceable documents), making annual exclusion gifts ($18,000 per recipient in 2024 removes wealth from your estate immediately), updating beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance (takes minutes but can save beneficiaries thousands in taxes), creating powers of attorney (essential if capacity declines), and coordinating asset titling to maximize step-up in basis benefits.

Some strategies do require advance planning and can’t be implemented late in life: irrevocable trusts (removing assets from your estate requires sufficient time before death to avoid estate tax inclusion), large gifting programs (using lifetime exemption works best over multiple years), Roth conversions (require time for tax-free growth to benefit beneficiaries), and business succession planning (entity restructuring and ownership transfers take years to implement effectively). However, even if these advanced strategies aren’t available, basic estate planning provides substantial benefits at any age. Urgent timing note: If your estate exceeds $7 million, you have until December 31, 2025, to use the current $13.61 million federal exemption before it potentially drops in 2026.

You need both—CPAs and attorneys serve complementary but distinct roles in comprehensive tax and estate planning. Attorneys create legal documents (wills, trusts, powers of attorney, business entities) and provide legal advice on estate planning, asset protection, and wealth transfer strategies. CPAs prepare tax returns, provide tax compliance services, analyze tax consequences of proposed strategies, and offer ongoing tax advice for annual planning. Neither professional can fully substitute for the other.

How they work together: Attorneys design the estate plan structure considering legal, tax, and asset protection goals, then draft the necessary documents (trusts, wills, business operating agreements). CPAs implement the tax strategies by preparing gift tax returns, estate tax returns, trust income tax returns, and ensuring proper tax reporting. Both collaborate on complex strategies like Roth conversions (attorney structures beneficiary planning, CPA models tax impact), business succession (attorney handles legal entity and ownership transfers, CPA addresses tax consequences), and charitable giving (attorney creates charitable trusts, CPA calculates deductions and ongoing tax reporting). With Gary Eastman’s unique combination of J.D. (law degree) and M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Kansas, we understand both the legal and financial/tax aspects of planning.

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Bring your most recent tax returns (last 2 to 3 years), a list of your assets with approximate values, information about retirement accounts and life insurance, and any existing estate planning documents to your initial consultation. This information allows us to analyze your current tax situation, identify planning opportunities, and recommend strategies tailored to your circumstances.

Specifically helpful documents include tax returns (Form 1040 for last 2 to 3 years showing income, deductions, and overall tax picture), asset information (real estate appraisals or tax assessments, investment account statements, business valuations if available, retirement account statements showing current balances), life insurance policies (showing death benefits, ownership structure, and current beneficiaries), existing estate planning documents (wills, trusts, powers of attorney—even if outdated), business documents (operating agreements, partnership agreements, corporate documents if you own a business), and gift tax returns (Form 709 if you’ve made large gifts in the past using lifetime exemption). Don’t worry if you don’t have everything perfectly organized. We’ll help you identify what’s needed and can work with incomplete information initially.

The SECURE Act (effective 2020) eliminated the “stretch IRA” for most non-spouse beneficiaries, requiring them to withdraw inherited retirement accounts within 10 years instead of over their lifetime. This compresses income tax liability into a shorter period, potentially pushing beneficiaries into higher tax brackets and generating larger tax bills. Previously, a 35-year-old child inheriting a $1 million IRA could stretch distributions over 50+ years, minimizing annual taxable income. Now, they must withdraw the entire $1 million within 10 years, paying ordinary income tax on each withdrawal.

Exceptions allowing lifetime stretch include surviving spouses, minor children (until age of majority), disabled or chronically ill beneficiaries, and beneficiaries less than 10 years younger than the deceased. Strategies to mitigate SECURE Act impact include Roth conversions during your lifetime (heirs inherit tax-free accounts), strategic beneficiary designations using trusts for asset protection, charitable remainder trusts as IRA beneficiaries (providing income to heirs while avoiding income tax), and life insurance to replace retirement account value lost to taxes. Throughout Johnson County and Wyandotte County, we coordinate retirement account planning with estate strategies to minimize the SECURE Act’s tax impact on your beneficiaries.