If your estate is substantially in excess of $1,500,000 ($3,000,000 if you are married), you may want to consider ways of reducing your estate tax exposure. Doing so will often involve the use of less widely-known techniques and trusts which assure your financial security and your lifestyle, but which substantially reduce the impact of federal and state wealth transfer taxes.

More advanced planning is typically undertaken by individuals that have retired and have reached age 60. The size of your estate will often create exceptions to this rule. Some advanced estate planning is simple, can be completed in a short amount of time, and can generate substantial benefits, while others are more of a process which involves ongoing implementation and refinement.