Quote:
Originally Posted by KRMACK55
Avoid retail investors like Schwab and Fidelity with lots of fees embedded in these estates.
An attorney who only does estate planning should be both an accountant tax attorney with a speciality in trusts. They also can give a price for preparing everything including DNR and other measures.
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I see a comingling here. Consider these various functions:
Power of attorney - Usually individuals with minimal fees if you know them. Could also be attorneys for a steep fee. Authority stops immediately upon death.
Investment managers - Could be boutique or major institutions. Usually about 1% management fee plus cost of asset (nothing for stocks or ETF's, up to ~3 % for complex mutual funds)
Attorney - Writes wills or trust documents. In the case of wills, could act as executor or get hired by executor. Can execute very lucrative probate process. In the case of trusts, setup fees are steeper than wills, but much simpler execution upon death. They also draft related documents: POA, HIPAA, DNR, etc
Executor (for wills)/Successor trustee (for trusts) - someone entrusted to make sure your wishes are carried out. Executor acts after death only and could hore a lawyer or trust department if so spelled out in will or trust.
Trust departments - Can act as successor trustee. Could also be a co-trustee with a family member, but focus is on investmenet management. That's their main source of revenue.
Accountants - Files tax documents.
Tax attorney - Files tax documents, but presumably more tax compliant in case of complex issues. Tax attorney work is often related to the a trust attorney, since the trust documents can have a bearing on tax filings.