Estate planning supported by clear financial records

Individuals and families who need an organized financial and tax record for an estate-planning attorney, including business owners, property owners, people making significant gifts, and fiduciaries gathering information after a death.

• Your will, trust, powers of attorney, or beneficiary designations need review
• Ownership, basis, gifting, or liquidity questions affect the estate plan
• A family business or concentrated asset requires succession coordination
• An executor, trustee, or family member needs organized financial information

• Assets, liabilities, legal ownership, account titles, and available beneficiary records
• Purchase, improvement, valuation, and other tax-basis documentation
• Lifetime gifts, inherited property, prior gift-tax returns, and related reporting records
• Business interests, ownership agreements, valuation information, and succession arrangements
• Life-insurance proceeds, debts, cash needs, and other estate-liquidity information
• Prior income, gift, estate, or fiduciary returns relevant to future filing responsibilities

We define the accounting and tax questions, assemble reliable schedules, and help you prepare for legal counsel. When documents are complete, we can help align accounting records, beneficiary information, business records, and future tax filings with the plan.

Safe Harbor Accounting does not draft wills, trusts, deeds, beneficiary agreements, or other legal documents. Those matters require a qualified attorney. Tax outcomes also depend on valuation, ownership, domicile, and current federal and state law.

• Prepare an asset, liability, ownership, and beneficiary inventory
• Identify basis records and tax-sensitive transfers for discussion
• Coordinate financial data with the estate-planning attorney
• Create a practical list of records and follow-up responsibilities

• An inventory of assets, liabilities, ownership, beneficiaries, and available basis records
• A list of missing documents and inconsistencies for the client and attorney to resolve
• Schedules of business interests, lifetime gifts, inherited property, or other tax-sensitive assets included in scope
• Tax and accounting questions to address before documents or transfers are finalized
• A responsibility calendar for valuations, record retention, beneficiary follow-up, and future tax filings
• Organized financial schedules for coordination with the estate-planning attorney and other advisers

Protect sensitive records. Do not send tax documents, Social Security numbers, bank records, IDs, or other sensitive files through ordinary email. Call the office before transmitting sensitive records.

• Current wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health-care directives for coordination with legal counsel
• Deeds, account titles, and current beneficiary-designation confirmations
• Bank, brokerage, retirement, annuity, and life-insurance statements
• Business ownership records, operating or shareholder agreements, and buy-sell arrangements
• Recent federal income tax returns and any prior gift or estate tax returns
• Purchase, improvement, valuation, and other basis records for significant property
• Mortgage, loan, and other liability statements
• Prior appraisal or valuation reports and information about substantial lifetime gifts

Florida currently has no state-level estate tax for people who died after December 31, 2004, but federal estate, gift, basis, fiduciary-income-tax, and reporting issues may still apply. Florida homestead, probate, trust, deed, beneficiary, and power-of-attorney questions are legal matters for a Florida attorney; Peter’s role is to organize the financial record and address agreed tax and accounting questions.