Tax & Estate Planning

We do not have accountants or attorneys on staff at Grimes & Company, since often clients seek a tax or legal professional with an expertise in a certain area.  We do have a broad network or accountants and attorneys that we can refer clients to as appropriate, but in many cases we work closely with the client’s existing accountant and/or attorney on asset protection tactics.

On the tax planning side, both investment management and portfolio distributions are managed as tax efficiently as possible.  We work with clients to develop tax effective strategies for dealing with concentrated positions, inherited positions, low cost basis stocks, employee stock options, etc.  Since clients new to the firm typically transfer their portfolios in-kind, we are able to look at the tax implications of repositioning the portfolio prior to making any trades.

Portfolio distributions are often taken from both pre-tax and after-tax sources during the course of the year to help minimize a client’s taxable income.  Careful planning helps enable us to keep a client’s taxable distributions consistent year over year, and annual review of changes in a clients tax situation is an important consideration in managing portfolio distributions.

That said, our main priority on the investment management side is overall return, and regular communication with your tax professional helps eliminate unpleasant surprises at year-end.

On the estate planning side, we work with you and your attorney to make sure accounts are titled correctly, beneficiary designations are up to date, and trusts are established and funded appropriately.