Tax & Estate Planning Services

Tax management focuses on minimizing your lifetime tax liability by strategically coordinating withdrawals, conversions, and asset placements across taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free accounts. Estate planning addresses how your wealth transfers after death—structuring beneficiary designations, trusts, and legal instruments to reduce probate, taxes, and court interference. At Sentinel, we integrate both disciplines into one cohesive strategy so your wealth works efficiently during your lifetime and transfers smoothly afterward.

Not always. We focus on the 98% of estate planning that doesn't require an attorney—optimizing account titling, beneficiary designations, insurance policies, and ownership structures. However, when more complex instruments like revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, or special needs trusts are appropriate, we collaborate with qualified estate attorneys to ensure every detail is legally sound and aligned with your financial strategy.

Strategic estate and tax planning can significantly reduce your heirs' tax burden. We employ techniques like Roth conversions to shift assets into tax-free accounts, qualified charitable distributions to reduce taxable income, coordinated gifting strategies, and beneficiary structuring that minimizes estate and income taxes. By organizing your assets across the three U.S. tax categories and timing distributions intentionally, we help ensure more of your wealth reaches your loved ones instead of the IRS.

A trust is a legal entity that holds and distributes your assets according to your instructions, often avoiding probate and providing control over when and how heirs receive their inheritance. You may benefit from a trust if you want to protect assets from creditors, provide for minor children or family members with special needs, minimize estate taxes, or maintain privacy. We review your situation and collaborate with estate attorneys when trusts are the right tool for your goals.

A Roth conversion involves moving funds from a tax-deferred account (like a traditional IRA) into a Roth IRA, paying taxes now in exchange for tax-free growth and withdrawals later. This strategy can be beneficial if you expect to be in a higher tax bracket in retirement, want to reduce required minimum distributions, or plan to leave tax-free assets to heirs. We model your long-term tax picture and execute conversions strategically, often during low-income years or market downturns.

Sequence-of-returns risk occurs when you experience poor market returns early in retirement, forcing you to withdraw from a declining portfolio and potentially depleting your assets faster. This risk can undermine even well-funded estates. We mitigate it through structured withdrawal 'buckets'—holding near-term cash needs in stable assets while allowing growth-oriented investments time to recover. This approach helps preserve your principal and ensures more wealth remains for your legacy.

Absolutely. We've supported over 20 families long-term with 25 years of experience in special needs financial planning. Our service coordinates with attorneys and care planners to structure special needs trusts, government benefit preservation, and long-term income strategies that ensure your loved one receives lifelong support without jeopardizing eligibility for critical programs like Medicaid or SSI. Every plan is intentional, protective, and designed for continuity.

Estate plans should be reviewed every three to five years or after major life events—marriage, divorce, birth of a child, death of a beneficiary, significant asset changes, or relocation to a new state with different estate laws. Tax laws also change frequently, requiring periodic updates to strategies like beneficiary designations, trust terms, and withdrawal sequencing. We monitor your plan continuously and recommend adjustments to keep it aligned with your goals and current regulations.