What is the difference between estate planning and wealth transfer?

Hello, my name is Ron Blue, and I’ve done an awful lot of estate planning and tax planning in my professional life. And I draw a distinction between estate planning and wealth transfer. Estate planning is really all about the tax consequences of your estate – trying to minimize the taxes and to maximize the distribution that you want to occur. But I think there’s something different when we talk about wealth transfer. Wealth transfer is different, in that wealth transfer can begin right now. Wealth transfer is transferring all of my wealth; it doesn’t necessarily have to wait until I die or until my spouse and I die. I think it is very important to be very intentional about your wealth transfer issues and plans and to begin thinking of it as “wealth transfer” as opposed to, “I’m going to do my estate plan.” Wealth transfer will include an estate plan but an estate plan is way too restrictive in its thinking. It’s typically built around all the tools and techniques, which are important, but they are only important as you’ve answered some fundamental questions earlier about wealth transfer.

Click here for the July 10, 2009 Blog Entry