A business, a real estate portfolio and years of accumulated wealth deserve a clear transition plan. Our Estate Method is a complete series of estate-planning documents—a full estate plan—with a streamlined process designed to let you execute the package in just a few clicks. That convenience simplifies the document workflow; it does not eliminate state-law signing requirements, asset transfers or careful tax decisions. We connect the process with your broader financial picture so the plan supports the people and assets it is intended to protect.

How the Estate Method works

Estate planning establishes who can act for you during incapacity, who receives your property at death and how those transfers are administered. A coordinated plan generally addresses a will, a revocable living trust where appropriate, financial powers of attorney and health care directives. The appropriate documents and provisions depend on state law, family circumstances and asset ownership.

Our Estate Method streamlines the document process. But producing documents, legally signing them and making them effective for particular assets are separate steps. Some instruments require witnesses, notarization or other formalities. Electronic execution is not universally available, and a digital workflow should never be mistaken for confirmation that every document is legally effective.

A completed document package is not the same as a fully implemented estate plan. Proper execution, trust funding and beneficiary coordination determine whether the plan works as intended.

SWITCH is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. We address tax strategy and coordinate with licensed attorneys for legal interpretation, customized drafting and execution of complex structures.

Who should consider it

The Estate Method is relevant to owners and investors who need an organized foundation, not just households facing federal estate tax. There is no minimum net worth required to benefit from estate planning. Practical complexity, however, determines whether a streamlined package is sufficient or attorney-led customization is necessary.

  • Business owners: Coordinate ownership succession, management authority and buy-sell agreements.
  • Real estate investors: Address individually owned property, LLC interests and holdings across multiple states.
  • Parents and blended families: Document distribution intentions and proposed guardians, subject to court approval.
  • High-net-worth households: Evaluate transfer-tax exposure and whether additional planning is appropriate.
  • Families with special circumstances: Obtain customized advice for special-needs beneficiaries, noncitizen spouses or potential disputes.

We review the existing plan as well as the balance sheet. A marriage, divorce, business sale, new child or interstate move can make yesterday’s documents inconsistent with today’s intentions.

What it can—and cannot—do for taxes

A revocable trust is usually not a tax shelter

A standard revocable living trust generally remains a grantor trust under IRC Sections 671–679, commonly Section 676. During the grantor’s lifetime, its income usually remains reportable by the grantor. Assets subject to retained control generally remain in the taxable estate under provisions such as Sections 2036 and 2038. Moving property into that trust does not, by itself, create an income-tax deduction or remove future appreciation from the estate.

A properly funded trust can help avoid probate for assets it owns, subject to state law. It does not automatically protect the grantor’s assets from creditors, and property left outside the trust may still require probate unless another transfer mechanism applies.

Federal estate tax and portability

For 2026, the federal basic estate and gift tax exclusion is $15 million per individual under IRC Section 2010(c), with inflation adjustments after 2026. Prior taxable gifts can reduce the exclusion available at death. The federal estate tax rate reaches 40%, but liability depends on the taxable estate, deductions, credits and prior transfers—not simply gross asset value.

A surviving spouse may preserve a deceased spouse’s unused exclusion through a valid portability election, generally made on a timely filed Form 706. Certain estates not otherwise required to file may qualify for simplified late-election relief under Revenue Procedure 2022-32. Portability is not automatic and does not transfer unused generation-skipping transfer tax exemption. Noncitizen spouses require separate analysis.

Basis and state rules matter

Inherited property generally receives a basis adjustment to date-of-death fair market value under IRC Section 1014, subject to exceptions and alternative valuation rules. That adjustment can be upward or downward. Retirement accounts and other income-in-respect-of-a-decedent items generally do not receive this treatment. Lifetime gifts generally carry over the donor’s basis under Section 1015, making aggressive gifting potentially costly for appreciated assets.

California currently imposes no separate estate or inheritance tax, but other states may. California real estate also requires a separate property-tax review: Proposition 19 substantially narrowed parent-child exclusions. An estate plan does not automatically preserve an existing assessed value.

The numbers: probate planning versus tax planning

Consider a California business owner with an $8 million estate, no prior taxable gifts and no unusual inclusion issues. Using the 2026 federal exclusion, that estate would generally fall below the federal estate-tax threshold. A revocable trust would not create an additional federal estate-tax saving merely by holding the assets.

The plan could still provide meaningful administrative benefits through properly funded ownership, successor authority and coordinated distributions. Suppose the estate includes property worth $2 million with a $600,000 adjusted tax basis. If that property qualifies for a Section 1014 adjustment to $2 million, a later $2.1 million sale would generally start with approximately $100,000 of gain before selling costs and subsequent basis adjustments—not $1.5 million.

The basis result generally comes from the applicable tax treatment at death, not from purchasing an estate-document package. We separate those concepts so convenience is never presented as a tax benefit it does not create.

Common mistakes and IRS scrutiny

Routine estate documents are not inherently aggressive tax planning. Scrutiny becomes more consequential when a plan relies on substantial gifts, hard-to-value interests, valuation discounts or retained-control arrangements.

  • Leaving the trust unfunded: Signed documents do not automatically retitle property or assign business interests.
  • Ignoring transfer restrictions: Operating agreements, lender terms and S corporation shareholder rules can limit ownership changes.
  • Mishandling retirement accounts: These generally should not be retitled into a living trust during life; trust beneficiary designations require separate distribution-rule analysis.
  • Using unsupported values: Closely held business and real estate transfers may require qualified appraisal support and appropriate Form 709 disclosure.
  • Retaining prohibited control: Assets intended to leave an estate can remain includible when the owner retains certain rights or benefits.
  • Missing records or deadlines: Preserve signed instruments, deeds, assignments, valuations, beneficiary confirmations and applicable tax returns.

How we implement the Estate Method

We start with your ownership structure, family objectives, existing documents and potential tax exposure. We then help distinguish needs suited to the streamlined document process from issues requiring licensed legal counsel. Complex trusts, charitable structures and business succession provisions require coordinated professional execution, not generic assumptions.

After document preparation, we help organize the tax-side implementation checklist: ownership changes for attorney review, beneficiary coordination, basis records, valuation needs and potential filing obligations. We also identify review triggers, including major acquisitions, changes in family circumstances and legislative developments. The objective is a usable, maintained plan—not simply a folder of signed documents.

Request a free consult with our team to explore whether the Estate Method fits your circumstances and what additional tax or legal coordination your plan may need.