Estate & legacy planning

Documents are the easy part. Making them agree is the work.

Most families we meet already have a will, often a trust, and almost always at least one beneficiary designation that quietly contradicts both. A beneficiary form beats a will, so the contradiction wins. It is worth finding that before your family does.

What this actually covers

We are not a law firm and do not draft documents. We make sure the documents and the money describe the same plan.

Beneficiary designations, checked against the documents

Retirement accounts and insurance policies pass by designation, outside the will entirely. An ex-spouse or a deceased parent named on an old form is more common than anyone expects.

Titling and how assets actually pass

Which accounts are joint, which are in trust, which are in one name. Titling decides the route, and the route decides how long and how public the process is.

Coordination with your attorney

You keep your attorney, or we can point you to one. Our job is to arrive at that meeting with the whole financial picture already assembled so the drafting is efficient.

Charitable and multi-generation intent

If part of it is meant for causes rather than children, saying so in the right structure changes what actually reaches them.

How this usually starts

A review of what already exists

Bring what you have, even if it is old. “We did these when the kids were born” is exactly the situation worth a fresh look.

Finding the contradictions

This is the part that surprises people. It is also cheap to fix once found and expensive to leave.

Keeping it current

Marriages, births, sales and moves all change the answer. A plan reviewed once at signing is a plan that ages badly.

Cannon Capital Management, Inc. is a Registered Investment Adviser. This page is for informational purposes and is not investment, tax, or legal advice. Nothing here is a recommendation for your situation, which we would need to know before making one.

Common questions
Do you write wills or trusts?
No. Drafting is legal work and belongs with an attorney. We handle the financial side and make sure it matches whatever gets drafted.
Do I need a trust?
Sometimes, and often not. It depends on what you own, how it is titled and what you are trying to achieve. Anyone who answers that question before looking at your situation is selling something.
Is this only for large estates?
No. The failure we see most often is a mismatched beneficiary form, and that costs a family the same confusion regardless of the amount involved.
Ready when you are

Start with a conversation, not a commitment.

The first strategy session is complimentary, and there is nothing to buy in it. See what to bring, or just bring the question that brought you here.