Values-Based Wealth Planning

Creating values-driven, tax-efficient wealth transfer plans

Collaborating on a wealth plan rooted in your values

Our partnership starts with you. Through our collaborative process, we work with you, your family, and your advisors to identify your values, priorities, and mission. Then, alongside your legal and tax advisors, we design and implement a wealth and estate plan that reflects your personal goals and values.

The future is unknowable. As wealth transitions through generations or to charity, and as legal and tax rules change, we ensure your plan remains resilient and durable. We then help you with one of the hardest parts of estate planning: deciding if, when, how, and to what extent to communicate your plans to those you love. We know how personal these decisions can be – count on us to help you each step of the way.

Wealth planning through volatility

Market volatility, as uncomfortable as it may be, creates opportunity. As the markets adjust around recent announcements about tariffs, here’s what to know about time-sensitive wealth planning strategies.

When to freeze a failing GRAT

In today's volatile market environment, there are many time-sensitive estate planning opportunities to consider. Here's what to know about creating or "freezing" a GRAT during market stress.

You deserve more from your wealth advisors than simply tax and estate planning advice. We collaborate with you and your family to ensure your plan reflects your goals and values. We are personally invested in helping your family thrive across generations.

– Anne Warren Managing Director and Senior Wealth Planner

How to Engage Your Family in Legacy Co-Creation

Partner Kathryn George and Managing Director Mike McGrann discuss a collaborative approach to building a legacy and best practices for communicating plans for the future.

Now accepting applications: Roles and responsibilities for estate plan personnel

The people you choose to make health, financial, and estate decisions on your behalf are just as critical as the plan itself. Learn the key roles to fill—and the factors to consider—when building your estate planning team.

How We Can Help

After a series of significant liquidity events, a couple was seeking assistance regarding when and how to communicate with college-age children about their newly realized wealth. The couple asked for guidance on how much and when to transfer wealth to children, as well as help discussing philanthropic aspirations.

BBH took a step back and began with an in-depth discussion with the couple in order to understand better the family’s history and values, hopes and dreams for the role of wealth in their lives. Next, we facilitated a broader discussion exploring long-held beliefs, family tension, expectations and opportunities for greater connectivity. Finally, we worked with the family’s estate planning attorney and accountant in order to help ensure the final wealth succession plan reflected the family history, values and goals and would enrich rather than burden the children.

A business owner approached BBH when she made the decision to sell her company. Initially, she wanted help determining the value of the business and hiring an investment banker, but after we reviewed the tax implications of the sale and her goals for her family and future business endeavors, she asked to learn more about pre-sale tax planning options.

Using the business owner’s goals and values as a backdrop, we outlined and discussed each of the mechanisms that might make sense for her situation. We then coordinated with her accountant and trusts and estates attorney to craft a tax-efficient plan that was designed to accomplish her objectives related to her family and philanthropy. She transferred an interest in the business to a trust for the benefit of her descendants and another piece of the business to a donor-advised fund prior to the sale. These structures allowed her to maximize the benefit for her family and charity while simultaneously minimizing both the capital gains tax consequences of the sale and the transfer tax consequences of the gift to her family.

A third-generation family-owned manufacturing business decided to sell a large interest in the business to a nonfamily member. The California-based family realized that the way they managed the business following the partial sale would have to change, and the family needed guidance on how to make the transition. The family would become less involved in the business’s day-to-day management, and there would be less transparency about performance and strategy.

BBH conducted a detailed review of the many trusts that owned an interest in the business and learned that the trustee wanted to be replaced. The trustee, a beloved uncle, did not know the new management team and thought that a professional trustee would be a better fit to exercise the family trusts’ rights in the business following the sale. BBH Trust Company of Delaware became trustee, and the trusts’ law and tax residence was immediately changed to Delaware. The shift to Delaware provided several advantages to the trust beneficiaries, such as enhanced asset protection, and nearly eliminated all California state income tax on the trusts. BBH Trust Company worked in-depth with each trust beneficiary to establish a new budget and estate plan to account for the significant increase in family wealth as a result of the transaction.

Since the sale many years ago, BBH hosts biannual family shareholder meetings where the family can engage management regarding the performance and strategy surrounding the business. We conduct interviews with each family member prior to the meeting to understand each family shareholder’s questions and to anonymize sensitive topics. BBH also helps management prepare for these family shareholder meetings so that the family will feel that their questions and concerns are being addressed.

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Capital Partners

Alison Kelly Hutchinson

Principal, Office Head

New York City, NY | USA

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Capital Partners

Kerri Mast

Principal, Senior Wealth Planner, Head of Philanthropic Advisory

Charlotte, NC | USA

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Capital Partners

Ross Bruch

Managing Director, Senior Wealth Planner

Philadelphia, PA | USA

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Capital Partners

Karin Prangley

Managing Director, Senior Wealth Planner

Chicago, IL | USA

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Capital Partners

Anne Warren

Managing Director, Senior Wealth Planner

Boston, MA | USA

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Capital Partners

Branch Howard

Vice President, Wealth Planner

Nashville, TN | USA

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¹ Source: Williams, Roy O., and Vic Preisser. Preparing Heirs: Five Steps to a Successful Transition of Family Wealth and Values.

This communication is for informational purposes only. The information herein has not been based on a consideration of any individual investor’s circumstances and is not investment advice, nor should it be construed in any way as tax, accounting, legal or regulatory advice. Individuals should consult their personal tax, accounting and legal advisers regarding any potential investment or strategy. Any views and opinions are subject to change at any time.

This material does not constitute an offer or solicitation in any jurisdiction where or to any person to whom it would be unauthorized to do so.

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