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Private Client · HNW & Family Services

Wealth that outlasts you.

Estate and gift tax planning, fiduciary returns, multi-generational wealth strategy, trust structures, and charitable planning — coordinated with your attorney and wealth advisor, ahead of the 2026 estate exemption sunset.

What We Offer

Private client work, integrated with your other advisors.

For families with serious assets to protect, transfer, or give away — the work has to coordinate across the attorney, the wealth advisor, and the CPA. We sit in that conversation, not on the sidelines.

Estate & gift tax planning

Form 706 and Form 709 returns. Lifetime gifting strategy. 2026 sunset preparation. Generation-skipping considerations. All coordinated with your estate attorney.

Trust & fiduciary work

Form 1041 fiduciary returns. K-1 distributions. SLAT, IDGT, GRAT, and dynasty trust coordination. Charitable trust (CRT, CLT) administration.

Multi-generational planning

Family limited partnerships. Generational wealth transfer modeling. Charitable structures including donor-advised funds. Education and incapacity planning support.

What's Included

What's included in a private client engagement.

Every engagement is flat-fee, scoped before work begins, and CPA-led with attorney and advisor coordination built in.

01

Annual fiduciary returns (1041)

Trust and estate returns prepared, K-1s distributed to beneficiaries, supporting schedules built and retained.

02

Gift tax returns (709)

Annual exclusion tracking, lifetime exemption monitoring, GST allocation, and basis carryover documentation across years.

03

Estate tax planning (706)

Estate return preparation when triggered. Pre-planning across portability, valuation, and basis step-up considerations. Coordination with executor and attorney.

04

Trust structure coordination

SLATs, IDGTs, GRATs, dynasty trusts — the tax side handled in coordination with the estate attorney drafting the instruments.

05

Charitable strategy

CRTs, CLTs, donor-advised funds, private foundations, and qualified charitable distributions — structured for the family's actual philanthropic goals.

06

Attorney & advisor coordination

Regular communication with your estate attorney, wealth advisor, and insurance professional so the plan is one plan — not three plans from three silos.

Related Services

Where private client work connects.

HNW and family work rarely lives in one place. These are the related practice areas that show up most often alongside the estate and gift planning.

01

Estates & Trusts

Form 1041 fiduciary returns, trust administration, and K-1 work — coordinated with your estate attorney.

Explore →
02

Tax Planning & Strategy

Multi-year tax modeling for HNW families — gifting windows, income deferral, charitable structures.

Explore →
03

Individual Tax Services

Form 1040 preparation for complex individual returns — equity comp, multi-state residency, foreign income.

Explore →
04

Business Tax Services

For HNW families who own closely-held businesses — owner compensation, entity strategy, and exit coordination.

Explore →
05

Nonprofit Tax Services

Family foundation work, donor-advised fund coordination, and Form 990 returns for charitable structures.

Explore →
Questions We Get

Questions HNW families ask before engaging.

Direct answers to what comes up most.

What is the 2026 estate exemption sunset, and why does it matter?+
The federal estate and gift tax exemption is set to drop sharply at the end of 2026 — possibly by roughly half. For families with more than $7M to $10M in total wealth, this is a real planning window. Structures like SLATs and lifetime gifting require months of attorney coordination, so meaningful planning has to start well before December 2026.
Do you draft the trust documents?+
No — we are not a law firm, and we will not be. Trust drafting belongs with your estate attorney. We do the tax structuring, modeling, and return work, and we coordinate directly with your attorney throughout. If you do not have one yet, we will introduce you to one we work with regularly.
How do you work with our existing wealth advisor?+
Closely. Tax decisions touch every part of the portfolio — asset location, harvesting, gifting, and distribution timing. We work alongside your wealth advisor as one team rather than in silos, which is how most families experience these conversations going badly.
What does private client engagement cost?+
Flat annual fee, scoped during the consultation. Pricing depends on the complexity — number of trusts, number of fiduciary returns required, planning depth, and coordination with other professionals. We commit the number before work begins.
Can you handle charitable giving strategies?+
Yes — CRTs, CLTs, donor-advised funds, private foundations, and qualified charitable distributions are all part of how we work. Charitable structures are most powerful when designed around an actual philanthropic intent, not retrofitted for the deduction alone.
Do you serve clients outside California?+
Yes. Headquartered in Pleasanton, but our practice serves families across all 50 states. Multi-state residency questions, out-of-state property, and split-jurisdiction trusts are common in our work.
An invitation

Let's see if we are a fit.

A complimentary 30-minute consultation. We review your situation, your existing planning, and tell you honestly whether Milestone is the right firm.

Call directly: 925-320-0309