Will my children owe tax on what they inherit?

It depends on the type of account and what they do with it. Inherited retirement accounts follow different rules than a taxable account that receives a step-up in basis, and the difference is significant enough to affect which assets you should leave to whom.

What happens financially when one spouse dies?

Income changes, filing status changes, and some benefits stop. Planning for that in advance is part of the work, and it is one of the moments a surviving spouse is most glad the plan already existed.

Is it better to give now or leave it in my estate?

There are good reasons for both, and the tax treatment isn’t the same. We will model it with you so the decision is made on the numbers and on what you actually want to see happen.

A senior couple sitting together at the end of a lake pier

Legacy & Estate Planning

The part of your plan that outlives you

An estate plan is more than a set of documents. It is whether the right names sit on the right accounts, whether the people you love know what to do, and whether what you leave arrives without an avoidable tax bill.

What you’ve built should outlast you

You’ve worked hard to get to where you are. Now you’re looking to preserve what you have. At Peterson Wealth Advisors, we’re here to see that what you’ve built lasts. Not just for you, but for the people you love and the charities that you support.

We work alongside your attorney

During your retirement, we’ll help you through the estate planning process. We can work with your estate planning attorney or recommend you to one to help complete your estate plan and keep it updated.

Your attorney drafts the documents
Yours, or one we recommend. The will, trust and powers of attorney are legal work, and we leave it to the people licensed to do it.
We match your accounts to the plan
Beneficiary forms, account titling and designations are checked against what the documents intend, so the paper and the money agree.
We keep it current
Marriages, deaths, moves and new grandchildren all change the answer. Updates are part of the ongoing work, not a project you have to remember to start.

Either way, we’ll efficiently establish your beneficiaries, protect your loved ones, and maximize your legacy. Plus, the Perennial Income Model™ will help us spot any estate-tax liability concerns along the way!

The details that quietly derail an estate

Most of the damage we see has nothing to do with a badly written will:

Beneficiary forms outrank your will
Whoever is named on a retirement account receives it, whatever the will says. Old forms naming a former spouse are more common than you would think.
Accounts titled in one spouse’s name
When that spouse dies first, the survivor can face delays reaching money they were counting on.
Nobody knows where anything is
Educating you and your family is part of the work, so the plan does not depend on one person’s memory.
Charitable gifts made from the wrong account
Giving from an IRA rather than a checking account often changes the tax result. How QCDs work.

Giving while you’re alive

What’s included

Legacy planning, as part of your plan

Provide advice when life’s uncertainties happen
Protect and provide for spouse and heirs
Estate plan creation and updates
Educate you and your family

These pieces are not sold separately. They come together as one plan, for one transparent quarterly fee.

Questions retirees ask us about legacy

No, we are not attorneys and we don’t draft documents. We work with your estate planning attorney, or recommend one if you don’t have someone, and we make sure your accounts and beneficiary designations actually match what those documents intend.

Related webinars

Explore these sessions for deeper guidance on coordinating your retirement income plan.

The rest of your plan

No decision in retirement stands on its own. Here is how the other pieces fit together.

Make sure your plan matches your accounts

Bring what you have: a will, a trust, or nothing yet. We’ll tell you where the gaps are between the plan you intend and the accounts you hold.

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