The first Beyond the Bottom Line event explored key considerations of personal wealth building. This conversation took a more granular approach to dive into the nuts and bolts of estate planning. 

I sat down with Rebecca Hulce, CFP, Vice President and Senior Wealth Planning Strategist, BMO Wealth Management to discuss how to approach estate planning and how the new federal budget reconciliation bill could impact your plan. 

Nearly $124 trillion in wealth will transfer in the U.S. by 2048. In that time frame, millennials are set to inherit almost $46 trillion, more than any other demographic. With this great wealth transfer underway, how should you begin to think about estate planning? For Hulce, the key is to think about what your goals are. 

"Where do you want things to be for you and your family and your loved ones?” Hulce said. “That can be such a different answer for everybody. You've got to start with really what's important to you.” 

Understanding your goals begins with communication. "Communicate with your partner, your loved one, whoever is important to you in your life. It's got to start there,” Hulce said. “When do you tell the kids what kind of wealth you have? That's a really challenging one. There is no right answer to it. I will tell you from years of experience in this business, your kids know a lot more than you think they know.” 

The same applies to your goals for business succession. “You need to have a comprehensive plan about who would take over and run the business if you couldn't,” Hulce said. "Do you have that plan in place? Are all parties aware of the plan? Are you transferring company stock? It comes back to your goals. If one of your goals is to have that business continue without you, what steps have you taken to protect the value of that business so that goal can be achieved? And if you haven't done that and haven't worked with an attorney to draft those documents for you, that is a key component in addition to the estate planning documents.” 

An estate plan is not a one-and-done affair. It requires regular review and revisions when appropriate.  

“Life happens,” Hulce said. “Death occurs, divorce occurs, the breaking up of a partnership, economic conditions change, your company’s position changes. Revisit the plan constantly, both on a personal level and a business level.”  

Hulce added that estate planning should be approached holistically, encompassing the financial, legal and tax implications. Any wealth accumulated in a retirement plan, for example, is not covered under an estate plan; it’s governed by a beneficiary designation. That’s why Hulce said it’s crucial to ensure the various documents related to your personal and business plans align with your estate plan. "If you got divorced somewhere along the line, you don't want your ex-spouse named as your beneficiary,” she said. 

In July, Congress passed the federal tax and spending package known as the One Big Beautiful Bill. Hulce noted that the bill includes implications for estate planning.  

“On the estate side, we all understand that when we pass away, all of our assets get valued as of our date of death,” she said. “The passage of the bill has provided clarity that the federal estate tax exemption level in 2026 will move to $15 million per person. A married couple can now exempt $30 million before there are any estate taxes. That was an important point of clarity because that tax, once you get beyond that exemption level, is 40%. So that has real implications.” 

Another consideration lies with the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. For those who plan to leave assets to grandchildren, the lifetime federal estate tax exemption of $15 million per person and $30 million per couple also applies. However, while the bill preserves portability of the estate and gift tax exemption between spouses, the GST tax exemption is not portable. That’s why consulting with an estate planning tax expert is crucial for maximizing multigenerational wealth transfer. 

“If you're leaving these assets to your grandchildren instead of your children, you're still subject to the 40% tax,” Hulce said. 

Estate planning is about setting goals and revisiting those goals on a regular basis. It takes discipline, and you’ll need to have the right partners in place, including legal, tax and banking experts, to help make sure your plan is aligned with your goals. 

“It’s crucial to see a good estate planning attorney,” Hulce said. “I don't want to see one who does one or two estate plans a year. I want to see someone who does that for a living.”