You can draft a flawless plan and still watch it fail in the accounts.
The revocable trust was never funded. The IRA names the ex-spouse. The brokerage account is joint with the wrong child. Or the executor, grieving and overwhelmed, liquidates an account that should have been retitled and triggers a tax bill nobody needed. None of that is a drafting problem. It’s a follow-through problem.
When to call us
A new plan needs funding
Retitling accounts into the trust and updating beneficiary designations so they match what you drafted.
An estate is in administration
Inventory, cash needs for taxes and expenses, what to sell and when, and the inherited IRA decisions.
A client is near the New York cliff
Estates close to $7.35 million need the account-level picture to plan gifts and bequests precisely.
A business owner is planning
Gifting shares before a sale, liquidity after it, and what the family will actually inherit.
A surviving spouse is alone
Someone who never handled the finances and now has to, often with an estate still open.
Heirs inherit real money
Adult children with inherited IRAs, concentrated stock or sale proceeds and no plan for them.
What Morrowgate does
- Builds a family balance sheet showing every account, how it’s titled and who it passes to
- Coordinates retitling and beneficiary designation changes so the accounts match your documents
- Works with the executor or trustee on cash needs, distributions and the order of sales
- Plans inherited IRA withdrawals within the 10-year rule, alongside the CPA
- Manages investments for trusts and heirs, held in the client’s name at Fidelity, with Schwab available
- Leads family meetings when the plan needs explaining, with you in the room when it helps
Your role and ours
| Estate attorney | Morrowgate | |
|---|---|---|
| Wills, trusts, powers of attorney | Drafts and advises | Follows them; never drafts |
| Probate and Surrogate’s Court | Handles | Provides account values and records |
| Trust funding | Advises on what goes where | Coordinates the account paperwork |
| Beneficiary designations | Advises on the design | Confirms each form matches the plan |
| Investments and distributions | Advises on fiduciary duties | Manages within the documents’ terms |
| Tax returns | Coordinates with the CPA | Coordinates with the CPA |
The New York numbers that drive the account work
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| New York basic exclusion amount | $7,350,000 |
| New York cliff (105% of the exclusion) | $7,717,500 |
| Federal basic exclusion, per person | $15,000,000 |
| Portability of the unused exclusion | Federal: yes. New York: no. |
For estates near the cliff, the account-level detail matters. Which assets count? What gifts were made in the last three years? How would a gift or a charitable bequest move the total? We supply that picture so you can plan to the dollar.
- Tax as a share of the estate
- 9.6%
- Over the $7.35M exclusion by
- $450,000
- Federal estate tax, rough
- $0
How an introduction works
Send a short email, with your client’s permission. A first name, the situation and what you need.
No account numbers or documents at the start. Greg replies, usually within one business day, and you’ll hear from us before anything is done that touches your plan. Specialist legal and tax work stays with you and the CPA.
How Morrowgate works with attorneys. Morrowgate works with the attorney and CPA on every estate and keeps the family balance sheet current. The goal: trusts, accounts and beneficiary designations that all say the same thing. Fees are explained to the client in writing before any work begins.
Questions attorneys ask
Will you try to take over the client relationship?
No. The legal work and the client’s relationship with you stay where they are. We keep you informed and ask before acting on anything that touches the plan.
Can you help an executor who isn’t our client’s family?
Yes. Executors and trustees, family or professional, often need help with cash needs, valuations and what to sell first.
Do you give legal or tax advice?
No. We coordinate with the attorney and CPA, who give their own advice.
Where are client assets held?
In the client’s or the trust’s name at an independent custodian, primarily Fidelity, with Schwab available.
Where this guidance stops
This article is general education on how a wealth manager coordinates with estate counsel: how the rules and the options generally work.
It is not tax, legal or investment advice, and nothing here is a recommendation for your situation. Rules change and outcomes turn on the facts, which is why a CPA and an attorney look at a family’s own numbers before anything is done.
Sources
- New York State Department of Taxation and Finance: Estate tax
- NYSSCPA: Navigating the 2026 New York estate tax
- IRS: Retirement topics, beneficiary