Having a plan for your estate—your home, your wealth, your possessions—means you can leave the legacy you want, whether that’s to help your family, a charitable cause, or an institution.

Many people associate estate planning with having a will. While the transfer of your assets is an important part of estate planning, a will is just one aspect of a broader plan designed to make sure your wishes are known, honored, and carried out as efficiently as possible when you're no longer able to articulate them. We work with a team of estate planning experts to help you develop an estate strategy that can help:

• Reduce or eliminate gift, estate, and inheritance taxes for your heirs
• Protect your estate from mismanagement or from claims of creditors or ex-spouses
• Leave the legacy you want, such as paying for your grandchildren’s education or giving to your favorite charitable causes

In addition to the expertise our team can offer, you'll want to work with an estate planning attorney to establish:

• Healthcare directives (also known as living wills) that specify the extent to which you want health care professionals to treat you if you become ill or incapacitated
• Powers of attorney that grant people you trust the legal authority to act on your behalf in case of sudden accident or illness
  • A healthcare power of attorney enables your agent to make healthcare decisions on your behalf
  • A financial power of attorney allows your agent to do things like pay bills, access accounts, and possibly make gifts
• A will or possibly a living trust to make sure your assets are transferred according to your wishes or even name a legal guardian for children under the age of 18
  • The Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) can serve as trustee of Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts. In addition, through the Trust Alliance Program, NMWMC can partner with nationally-recognized trust administration firms that offer a broad range of services such as revocable trusts, charitable trusts, endowments, and foundations.

Help protect your earning power and keep your goals on track if an unexpected injury or illness prevents you from working. No matter the type of job or career you have (or business you own), we have options that can give you more choice and more control.

Your ability to earn a living is likely the most important financial asset you have. Having a plan ready to go should you experience a disability, can help you rest easier knowing that your goals, big and small, can keep moving forward.

Individuals – While you focus on getting better, your goals like leaving a legacy or saving for a second home can still stay on track when you have a plan.

Physicians and Dentists – With a plan, you’re not just protecting your income, you’re protecting the investment you've made in your career.

Business owners and employers – A plan can help keep your business running if you or another key employee becomes too sick or injured to do their job, and by enhancing your benefits package with a plan you can help protect your employees, too.

While providing the protection you need, our solutions play a key part in your financial plan, giving you more financial flexibility throughout your life. We’ll listen to what's important for you to do today and down the road, and evaluate which type of coverage, and amount, could help you reach your goals.

You work hard to give your loved ones every advantage. The right life insurance can make sure that you leave a legacy for loved ones and help maintain their standard of living when you’re no longer here.

Our evaluations are based on your goals, priorities, and the role life insurance will play in your financial plan. From protection that lasts for a set amount of time (term life) or a lifetime (permanent life), we have a solution. And with permanent life, you also get financial benefits that you can use while you’re living, including:

• Financial flexibility for emergencies and opportunities
• A cash accumulation that grows over time and can be used for anything
• A tax-advantaged way (via a cash accumulation) to help grow your wealth

If you’re a business owner, offering life insurance as part of a comprehensive benefits package can help to recruit and retain valuable employees and help them feel financially secure while contributing to the success of your business.

Life insurance can also minimize the financial impact felt by the passing of a key contributor to your business. Its cash accumulation (or cash value) can be used to cover the potential loss of business or to recruit a successor.

Our wealth management services go above and beyond what you might expect from a financial services provider. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company offers:

Investment advisory services, designed to:

• Provide high-quality investment services and products.
• Build and monitor diversified portfolios.
• Develop objective, personalized plans.
• Focus on long-term results.

Trust services and partnerships, designed to:

• Provide continuity of stewardship that can last multiple generations.
• Preserve family harmony when carrying out your intentions.
• Carry out detailed record-keeping and accounting.
• Calculate taxes and file returns.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company serves as trustee on Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts. In addition, through our Trust Alliance Program, we partner with nationally-recognized trust administration firms that offer a broad range of services to revocable trusts, charitable trusts, endowments and foundations.

Online access to your account, so you can review:

• Comprehensive monthly statements.
• Performance reporting.
• Account access on a secure website.
• Current account balances on your investment holdings.
• Detailed transaction records on all accounts.

No matter what you see yourself doing, the places you picture yourself exploring, or when you want to start doing them, we’ll create the right plan to help you retire the way you want.

It’s likely your aspirations for retirement will require solutions that go beyond a 401(k) or IRAs, social security, or if you’re a business owner, the sale of your company. We start by understanding your vision, goals, and situation before making any recommendations. Then, we’ll create a comprehensive plan with the right strategies for investments, annuities, and insurance—each one designed to help maximize your assets, provide income efficiently, and protect you from the unexpected.

Our advisors are also experienced in managing many types of assets and aligning all your other financial relationships to help make sure that the dreams you have for retirement can be reached, when you want to reach them.

Having a long-term care plan in place will give you (or a loved one) choice and control over where and how to receive care should it be needed. Plus, a plan will let your loved ones know your wishes and lessen the burden of the physical and emotional strains that can come with the need for long-term care.

Someday, you or a loved one may need ongoing help with day-to-day tasks like bathing, eating, or getting dressed. The cost of care is often underestimated and might not be covered by health insurance or Medicare. Long-term care planning can help you manage the assets that you’ve worked so hard for, so your family focus on offering love and support.

For many parents, their top priority is making sure their children (or grandchildren) are set up for success. From saving for your kids’ education to passing your wealth on in a meaningful way, we can help you plan for it.

When thinking about providing for the next generations of your family, we’ll create a strategy that will give you the flexibility and control to hand down your wealth (during your lifetime, after, or both) in a way you see fit. We start by helping you develop a plan or purpose for your assets, then we’ll determine what types of assets to allocate, to who and when, and how best to transfer them. Here are some important questions to consider:

• If you’re contributing to a college fund, are there other types of accounts for additional assets you should be considering?
• How would you help contribute to your child’s wedding, first-home purchase, or annual gifts?
• What are the different ways you can manage the impact of income or estate taxes?
• Do you want to maintain any control or place limits over how the money is used?

Planning for charitable giving

Now more than ever, people are putting their money where their values are. As part of your financial plan, charitable giving can help support the causes and organizations that are important to you, while maximizing tax efficiencies and defining your legacy.

There are many ways to give back. Our experienced team will work with you and your family to help identify philanthropic goals and develop your charitable giving strategy, which could include some of these options:

Cash: Transfer directly to the charity(ies) of your choice

Stock: Donate shares of stock you own

Other kinds of property: Donate items such as clothing, computers, cars, even life insurance

Donor-Advised Fund: A charitable investment account that offers flexible and efficient ways to manage donating to charities

Private Foundation: A charitable organization funded primarily by a single donor or small group of donors

Charities in your estate planning: Create a legacy of giving by including your favorite charity in your will or trust

Charitable Trusts: Transfer assets out of the estate with the goal of using them for charity

No matter if you’re just starting to craft your philanthropic vision or need help with more complex giving strategies, we have the expertise to help you make an impact.

Make sure the business that you’ve worked hard building will continue to move forward once you’ve decided to step back.

Whether it's a few years from now or decades away, there will come a day when you’ll want to step back from your business. Succession planning will chart a course to move your business forward after you leave. And having a plan in place can also give your business a competitive edge while you’re still calling the shots—employees, clients, and suppliers will have greater confidence in the stability of your business.

Our team of experts can help you develop a strong succession plan by helping you:

Set your goals: We start with what you want for your business and yourself after you step away. If you’re not sure what that might be, it’s ok. We’re experts in helping people discover their goals—big and small.

Build your plan: A recent survey¹ found that the top concern of business owners is who will take the reins when they leave. We’ll help you identify the right successor and create a personalized plan based on what you want.

Evaluate your risk: Life is unpredictable, and everything can change overnight. We can design risk management strategies that will help account for the unexpected such as if you become disabled, pass away, or get divorced.

Value your business: Many business owners don’t understand how much their business is truly worth. We have access to proprietary technology with patented algorithms that take the guesswork out of business valuation.

Review your plan: Our advisors will be your trusted partner at every step of the process and provide you with expert advice should your personal or business goals shift today, or down the road.

 

¹ Northwestern Mutual/Forbes Insight Survey 2021