Top Estate Planning Consultants, Advisors, Services, Companies, & Consulting Firms
Estate planning is an essential step in securing your financial future and safeguarding your assets for the next generation.
Whether you're managing complex estates or preparing for the unexpected, working with experienced consultants can simplify the process and provide peace of mind.
The right estate planning professionals offer expertise across legal, financial, and tax considerations.
The Importance of Estate Planning Consultants
Estate planning consultants bring specialized knowledge to help individuals create effective strategies for asset protection, inheritance distribution, and tax efficiency.
They guide clients through the complex landscape of wills, trusts, and probate, ensuring that all aspects of an estate plan are organized and legally sound.
As laws and financial landscapes evolve, these experts stay up-to-date with the latest regulations.
This allows them to provide practical advice and develop strategies that remain relevant, offering long-term solutions for managing assets and fulfilling personal wishes.
Choosing the Right Estate Planning Advisor or Service
When choosing an estate planning advisor, it's important to find someone with a strong legal and financial background.
Advisors with a deep understanding of estate law, taxation, and wealth management will have the expertise needed to address your specific requirements.
Additionally, look for a professional who takes time to understand your personal goals and family dynamics.
A consultant who conducts a comprehensive assessment of your situation will develop an estate plan that aligns with your individual circumstances and provides clarity for the future.
TL;DR Top Estate Planning Consultants, Advisors, Services, Companies, & Consulting Firms
Mercer Advisors: Provides integrated estate planning services alongside wealth management, helping clients protect assets, reduce taxes, and facilitate smooth wealth transfer.
Edward Jones: Offers estate planning integrated with financial strategies, helping clients minimize taxes and arrange for their assets to be distributed according to their wishes.
EP Wealth Advisors: Combines estate planning with tax and financial services, offering customized plans and specialized trusts to protect and manage wealth for future generations.
Mariner Wealth Advisors: Provides comprehensive estate planning within a wealth management framework, focusing on asset protection, tax minimization, and wealth transfer strategies.
Stifel: Offers estate and tax planning services, focusing on optimizing wealth transfer, reducing tax burdens, and avoiding probate to align with client wishes.
Mercer Advisors offers comprehensive estate planning services as part of their integrated wealth management approach.
Their estate planning solutions are designed to help clients protect their assets, manage their wealth during their lifetime, and efficiently transfer it to beneficiaries.
Mercer Advisors stands out by including estate planning in their overall financial advisory services, working collaboratively with in-house wealth strategists, tax experts, and financial planners.
The firm’s estate planning services encompass essential documents like revocable living trusts, wills, and powers of attorney for financial and healthcare decisions.
They also focus on minimizing probate, reducing tax burdens, and ensuring privacy.
Mercer helps clients plan for incapacity, enabling trusted individuals to manage their affairs if necessary, while their comprehensive solutions ensure that personal wishes are executed smoothly.
Key Services:
Creation of revocable living trusts and wills
Financial and healthcare powers of attorney
Trust-based strategies for wealth transfer
Estate tax minimization and probate avoidance
HIPAA authorizations and healthcare directives
Why work with Mercer Advisors?
Their holistic approach to estate planning, combined with financial advisory services, provides clients with seamless, integrated solutions to protect their legacy and ensure the fulfillment of their long-term financial goals.
Edward Jones provides a comprehensive estate planning service aimed at helping individuals protect their families and their assets.
Their approach to estate planning involves creating a strategy to ensure that assets are distributed according to the client's wishes while minimizing unnecessary taxes and fees.
This service is part of their broader financial advisory offerings, integrating estate planning with overall financial strategies.
Edward Jones encourages clients to build an estate planning team, which typically includes a financial advisor, an attorney, and a tax professional.
This team works together to create essential estate planning documents, such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives.
Additionally, Edward Jones Trust Company can serve as a trustee or successor trustee, providing professional oversight in managing trusts.
Key Services:
Development of wills and trusts
Creation of financial and healthcare powers of attorney
Trust services, including acting as a trustee or co-trustee
Estate tax planning and strategies to minimize probate
Coordination with legal and tax professionals
Why work with Edward Jones?
Their collaborative approach, which integrates financial advice with legal and tax strategies, provides clients with a comprehensive estate plan that reflects their personal and financial goals.
Edward Jones helps guide clients through the process of building an effective estate plan, ensuring that their legacy is protected and their family's future is secure.
EP Wealth Advisors offers comprehensive estate planning services as part of their holistic financial planning approach.
Their services focus on helping clients manage and distribute assets according to their wishes while reducing potential tax impacts and ensuring privacy.
The firm integrates estate planning into broader wealth management strategies, working closely with clients' legal, tax, and financial advisors.
EP Wealth’s estate planning services include creating essential documents such as revocable living trusts, wills, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives.
They also offer specialized trusts like life insurance trusts, charitable remainder trusts, and special needs trusts to meet more specific goals.
For clients seeking professional management of their assets, EP Wealth also offers corporate trustee services through their Private Trust division.
Key Services:
Revocable living trusts and pour-over wills
Durable financial and healthcare powers of attorney
Charitable remainder and special needs trusts
Estate tax minimization strategies
Corporate trustee services through EP Wealth Private Trust
Why work with EP Wealth Advisors?
Their integrated approach, combining estate, tax, and financial planning, ensures that clients receive a tailored estate plan that aligns with their long-term goals, providing peace of mind and financial security for future generations.
Mariner Wealth Advisors offers comprehensive estate planning as part of their overall wealth management services.
Their approach includes a detailed review and creation of key documents such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives.
They aim to help clients structure their estate plans to protect their assets and distribute wealth according to their wishes.
Mariner Wealth Advisors works closely with legal and tax professionals to implement strategies that minimize taxes and ensure a smooth transfer of assets.
Their services also include advanced estate planning tools like charitable planning, generation-skipping wealth transfers, and life insurance trusts.
These strategies are designed to preserve wealth for future generations while protecting assets from creditors or other risks.
Key Services:
Design and review of wills, trusts, and healthcare directives
Charitable planning and gifting strategies
Creation of tax-advantaged vehicles for wealth distribution
Asset protection and generation-skipping wealth transfer
Life insurance as a tool for income replacement
Why work with Mariner Wealth Advisors?
Mariner combines estate planning with broader wealth management strategies, offering clients a comprehensive approach to managing and preserving their assets for the long term.
Stifel offers comprehensive estate and tax planning services designed to help individuals manage and transfer wealth effectively.
Their approach includes estate plan analysis, where professionals review existing plans, wills, and trusts to identify areas for improvement.
In addition, they offer income tax analysis to help optimize investment strategies and reduce tax burdens.
Stifel’s estate planning process also aims to minimize the complexities of probate and taxation while ensuring that wealth is passed on according to the client’s wishes.
Key Services:
Estate plan reviews
Tax planning
Will and trust analysis
Wealth transfer strategies
Probate avoidance solutions
Why work with Stifel?
Their integrated approach combines tax and estate planning to help clients manage both current and future financial challenges.
6. Plante Moran
Plante Moran offers estate planning as part of their comprehensive wealth management services.
Their approach helps individuals protect their wealth and ensure it is passed on to future generations efficiently.
Plante Moran works alongside legal counsel and third-party advisors to craft estate plans that integrate with your overall financial goals, including philanthropic efforts and tax reduction strategies.
Their services aim to provide clarity in your financial legacy, ensuring that both your heirs and charitable organizations benefit as intended.
Their estate planning services include essential tools like wills, trusts, and healthcare directives, while also addressing estate and gift tax strategies.
The firm also focuses on asset protection and family legacy planning, educating heirs on managing wealth across generations.
Key Services:
Estate and gift planning
Estate and gift tax return planning
Family legacy building
Insurance solutions for estate preservation
Philanthropy and charitable giving strategies
Why work with Plante Moran?
Their collaborative approach, involving in-house specialists in tax, investment advisory, and business valuation, ensures that clients receive a comprehensive estate planning process tailored to their specific needs and goals. This provides peace of mind that your legacy will be well managed during your life and beyond.
7. Baird Wealth Management
Baird Wealth Management provides estate planning services to help clients protect and manage their assets for future generations.
Their services include trust administration, estate settlement, and investment management. Baird’s team collaborates with clients to develop strategies for asset protection, philanthropic giving, and tax-efficient wealth transfers.
They aim to offer peace of mind by ensuring that estates are settled in accordance with clients' wishes while minimizing the burden on their heirs.
Key Services:
Trust administration
Estate settlement
Philanthropic strategies
Investment management
Why work with Baird?
Baird combines nearly 40 years of experience with a client-centered approach to ensure that clients’ legacies are secured and passed on as intended.
8. RJP Estate Planning
RJP Estate Planning offers a range of estate planning services, focusing on helping families and individuals secure their assets and legacy for future generations.
With over 30 years of experience, the firm assists clients in creating customized estate plans that reflect their personal wishes.
They provide guidance on essential estate tools such as wills, revocable living trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives, ensuring that clients’ assets are managed effectively during life and passed on seamlessly after death.
RJP also specializes in more complex areas like probate and estate administration, wealth preservation, and Medicaid planning, making sure to minimize the potential for legal disputes and tax liabilities.
Their services are designed to protect assets, avoid probate, and provide peace of mind for clients, whether through comprehensive living trusts or other personalized estate solutions.
Key Services:
Creation of wills and living trusts
Wealth preservation strategies
Probate and estate administration
Medicaid and long-term care planning
Veterans benefits and special needs planning
Why work with RJP Estate Planning?
Their long standing experience, affordable services, and commitment to providing tailored estate planning solutions make them a trusted partner for families seeking to preserve their legacy and financial security.
9. Savant Wealth Management
Savant Wealth Management offers estate planning and wealth transfer services designed to help individuals safeguard their assets and efficiently pass them on to future generations.
With a team of in-house attorneys and financial professionals, Savant assists clients in navigating the intricacies of estate planning.
They provide strategies that align with overall wealth management goals, focusing on minimizing tax burdens and ensuring that assets are distributed according to each client’s specific intentions.
For clients with complex needs—such as business ownership or philanthropic goals—Savant offers tailored solutions, including estate plan audits and business succession planning.
Their wealth transfer strategies are crafted to protect assets and provide clarity in the distribution process, helping beneficiaries receive their inheritance in the most efficient manner possible.
Key Services:
Development of estate planning and wealth transfer strategies
Comprehensive estate plan audits
Business succession planning
Charitable giving and tax optimization strategies
Asset protection for beneficiaries
Why work with Savant Wealth Management?
Savant’s team of specialists combines expertise in estate planning and financial management, offering clients comprehensive solutions to safeguard their assets and meet their long-term financial goals.
10. Palmerston Group
Palmerston Group specializes in providing advanced financial planning and wealth management services for high-net-worth families and business owners.
Their approach focuses on addressing the complex financial challenges faced by those with significant wealth. Using a "Team of Experts" strategy, they bring together specialists in various fields to create customized financial plans that align with each client's unique needs.
This approach helps clients navigate the complexities of tax planning, wealth preservation, estate planning, and multigenerational wealth transfer.
Palmerston's services are designed for individuals seeking to protect and grow their wealth while simplifying the management of their financial affairs.
By building collaborative teams of independent specialists, they offer solutions that help clients minimize taxes, optimize investments, and secure their financial legacy.
Key Services:
Strategic financial planning for business owners
Advanced tax planning and wealth management
Multigenerational wealth planning
Risk management strategies
Integrated estate and retirement planning
Why work with Palmerston Group?
Their team-based approach provides comprehensive financial strategies tailored to each client’s specific goals, focusing on long-term wealth preservation and minimizing tax burdens.
Key factors to consider when choosing an estate planning consultant
Expertise in estate law: Look for consultants who have deep knowledge of estate laws and regulations, particularly those relevant to your region.
Comprehensive service offerings: Choose a firm that provides a wide range of services, including wills, trusts, tax planning, and asset protection.
Experience with complex estates: If you have a larger or more complicated estate, ensure the consultant has experience handling similar cases.
Client testimonials and reputation: Research feedback from previous clients to gauge the firm’s success and reliability.
Fee transparency: Understand their fee structure upfront—whether it's flat fees, hourly rates, or a percentage of assets managed.
Long-term relationship: Consider whether the consultant is committed to maintaining a long-term relationship for future updates and changes to your plan.
Confidentiality and professionalism: The firm should maintain high standards of discretion in handling sensitive financial and personal information.
What estate planning consultant will you choose?
Selecting the right estate planning consultant is essential to securing your legacy and providing peace of mind for the future. By evaluating factors such as expertise, service offerings, and the ability to handle complex estates, you can confidently choose a firm that aligns with your goals and needs.