Estate Planning Advisor
Work with an estate planning advisor to align your assets, beneficiaries, and legacy goals with a clear, coordinated plan.
Planning for tomorrow begins with thoughtful conversations today
Understanding the legacy you want to leave
Estate planning is often put off until “someday,” yet it is one of the most meaningful gifts you can give your family. It is not reserved for the ultra-wealthy. It is for anyone who wants clarity, control, and relief knowing their loved ones will not face unnecessary confusion or conflict later. Many families across Bloomington, Normal, and Central Illinois turn to Falstad & Associates for help making sure their wishes are understood, documented, and reflected across every financial account they own.
Working with an estate planning advisor in Bloomington IL means you have someone who can translate your goals into an organized plan before legal documents are drafted. Falstad & Associates partners closely with your estate attorney, supporting each step so your financial life and legal decisions move in the same direction. This approach helps your legacy reflect the values you have built throughout your life.
Honoring what matters most to you
Create a plan that reflects your wishes
Many individuals are surprised by how much estate planning extends beyond a will or trust. It involves real decisions about family values, charitable priorities, financial responsibility, and long-term wishes for those you care about. Falstad & Associates begins by understanding your intentions, whether that includes providing for a spouse, helping children buy a first home, setting up education funds for grandchildren, supporting your church or favorite charity, or passing on a family business.
These conversations help shape the structure of your estate plan before an attorney drafts documents. We coordinate asset information, organize accounts, review titling, and ensure that the financial side of the plan is complete and accurate. When clients have long-standing policies or retirement accounts, we often discover beneficiary information that no longer reflects their wishes. Correcting these inconsistencies is one of the simplest ways to avoid future disputes.
Aligning your financial life with your estate plan
Ensuring your assets pass the way you intend
True estate planning requires more than signing legal paperwork. Every account, beneficiary designation, and financial instruction must support the plan your attorney creates. Falstad & Associates reviews the structure of your investment accounts, retirement plans, insurance policies, and personal assets to ensure they coordinate with wills, trusts, and powers of attorney.
This includes thoughtful support in areas such as:
• Updating beneficiaries on retirement accounts and life insurance
• Coordinating account titling to match your estate structure
• Reviewing gifting intentions for children, grandchildren, or charitable causes
• Structuring wealth transfers in a way that reflects your family dynamics
• Integrating a family business or farm into long-term plans, which is especially relevant in Central Illinois communities
Because Illinois has its own estate tax considerations, many families want clarity about how their assets will be treated above the four-million-dollar threshold. We help you understand potential exposure and work with your attorney to determine strategies that may reduce the impact on your heirs.
At every step, the focus is on helping you create a plan that passes on more than money. It passes on clarity, confidence, and the values you have lived by.
Planning for your family’s future with care
Supporting meaningful multigenerational decisions
Estate and legacy planning are deeply personal. For many clients, conversations involve far more than numbers. They involve children with different financial needs, blended families, special-needs considerations, charitable aspirations, and hopes for future generations. Falstad & Associates approaches these discussions with patience and perspective, helping you think through each decision and how it shapes your legacy.
Families often find comfort knowing they can bring children or future executors into the conversation. This helps ensure that everyone understands the purpose behind your choices and reduces uncertainty during emotionally difficult times. Whether you want to keep a family property in the next generation, support a mission-driven cause, or create a thoughtful plan for long-term financial stewardship, we help translate those wishes into clear guidance.
A coordinated approach to legacy planning
Bringing clarity to complex decisions
Estate planning raises many questions, which is why people often search for guidance on how a financial advisor can help with estate planning or what steps to take to make sure their heirs are taken care of with minimal complexity. Falstad & Associates addresses these concerns by coordinating the financial components before legal documents are finalized. This includes organizing account statements for your attorney, preparing updated net-worth summaries, and helping you evaluate options such as living trusts, charitable giving strategies, or structured gifts during your lifetime.
Where a financial advisor fits into the estate planning process?
Many people wonder how an estate planning advisor in Bloomington IL can actually support their long-term wishes when attorneys are the ones who draft formal documents. The simplest way to understand it is this: your attorney prepares the legal structure, and Falstad & Associates helps ensure your financial life fits into that structure without loose ends. Clients often discover that retirement accounts, beneficiary designations, or old insurance policies have never been updated to reflect their current intentions. Correcting these gaps is one of the most meaningful ways a financial advisor adds value, because your assets need to follow the plan your legal documents outline. When both sides communicate clearly, the result is a plan that functions the way you intended.
What belongs in a will?
Many Bloomington families are surprised to learn how many assets pass outside a will entirely. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and certain investment accounts follow beneficiary designations, not the instructions in a will. If those designations are outdated, the wrong person may receive the account regardless of what the will states. This is why people who are serious about leaving a legacy ask for help aligning their financial accounts before meeting with an attorney. Falstad & Associates reviews each account with you, helping ensure that ownership and beneficiary information reflect the legacy you want to leave to children, grandchildren, or charitable causes.
How does Illinois estate tax rules may affect your plan?
Illinois has its own estate tax system, which can feel confusing without context. The exemption limit is lower than the federal threshold, which means families with property, farms, or significant retirement savings may cross into taxable territory without realizing it. This is especially common in Central Illinois communities where farmland, business ownership, or multigenerational property plays a major role in a family’s financial picture. Falstad & Associates helps clarify how your current assets align with the state threshold and works with your attorney to determine whether tools such as trusts or planned gifting may ease future tax burdens for your heirs.
How to decide whether a trust is right for your goals?
People often search for guidance when deciding whether a trust is necessary for their situation. A trust can support many goals, including simplifying the process for family members, offering more privacy than a will, or creating a structure for children or grandchildren who may need guidance in managing future inheritances. Trusts can also help align charitable intentions or provide ongoing support for a family member with special needs. Falstad & Associates talks through your goals, listens to your concerns, and prepares the financial details your attorney will use when drafting a trust that reflects your long-term priorities.
Planning for children or heirs who have different needs or financial maturity levels?
Parents frequently worry about how inheritances will affect children with different levels of financial experience. Some hope to provide early support for education, while others want to ensure that assets last over time rather than being spent quickly. These concerns are common, and discussing them early leads to better planning. Falstad & Associates helps you think through questions that shape this part of the plan. This includes how assets might be distributed over time, whether a trustee may be helpful, and how to prepare family members for future responsibilities. When these conversations happen in a calm and intentional setting, the outcome feels more aligned with long-term family wellbeing.
Estate planning and retirement planning are closely connected. Decisions about Social Security, investment withdrawals, long-term care preparation, real estate, and charitable giving all influence what will eventually pass to your heirs. Many Bloomington residents want help understanding how their retirement decisions will shape the size and timing of their legacy. Falstad & Associates brings these decisions together, ensuring that the plan for your later years supports the legacy you hope to leave. This includes talking through how certain accounts pass to heirs, how required withdrawals influence future balances, and how your intentions for family or charity can be addressed within a coordinated plan.
Related Services
Investment management
This plays a role in structuring inheritances and long-term gifts.
Retirement planning
We can help clarify how lifetime income decisions influence the legacy you leave.
