Estate Planning for Retirees: How to Protect Your Wealth, Your Health, and Your Legacy

You’ve spent decades building your wealth. Now the goal isn’t just to grow it — it’s to protect it.

Retirement should be about freedom, not financial anxiety. But without the right estate plan, taxes, long-term care costs, and probate can quietly erode the nest egg you worked so hard to create.

That’s where smart planning comes in. For retirees, estate planning is about keeping more of what you’ve earned and ensuring it goes exactly where you want.

Here are 3 key areas to focus on:

1- Trusts
Revocable and irrevocable trusts can help retirees avoid probate, maintain privacy, and, in some cases, protect assets from future long-term care expenses. They also make it easier to manage wealth if health issues arise later in life.

2- Medicaid (Long-Term Care) Planning
The cost of nursing home care in Connecticut can exceed $15,000 per month. Strategic planning — five or more years in advance to avoid the “look back period” — can help preserve assets while still qualifying for care when you need it most.

3- Tax Efficiency
Roth conversions, charitable giving, and timing withdrawals strategically can reduce taxes in retirement and maximize what you leave behind. Integrating your financial and legal plans is the key to keeping Uncle Sam from being your biggest heir.

The takeaway: You spent your life building stability — now it’s time to lock it in. Estate planning for retirees isn’t just about passing down assets. It’s about control, protection, and peace of mind.

The earlier you coordinate your legal documents with your financial strategy, the more flexibility — and freedom — you’ll have in retirement.