Real estate made Steve K. one of the wealthiest men in the U.S. But even he faced losing half his estate and a multi-million dollar residence to taxes.

A wife, children from two marriages, and several siblings, nieces, and nephews.

Steve wanted to secure a portion of his significant estate for each of them. He also wanted to ensure that his family would not have to sell prime assets to pay a massive tax bill when he passed away.

To address Steve's first concern, Ashton Group recommended a series of strategies, including Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts. By gifting money to these trusts, Steve successfully preserved his assets and dramatically reduced his tax liability. We also helped Steve retain an important measure of control by taking steps to protect his assets from creditors and other threats for up to
100 years.

To complete Steve's plan, we advised him to gift the value of his home to a Qualified Personal Residency Trust. He retained the right to live in the home, yet its value was discounted significantly for tax purposes. The trust also ensured that all future appreciation on the property would be estate-tax free.

To protect client confidentiality in the above case study, full names are not disclosed.