When we first started working with Brad, he was in his mid-30s and a mid-level manager at a small, privately owned medical device company. He was dedicated to helping the company grow and put in a tremendous amount of effort to help the firm serve its customers and expand its capabilities.

As the company grew, Brad steadily rose through the ranks. When he retired, Brad was one of the company’s top-five executives. Even as his responsibilities expanded, providing for his family, especially a child who has special needs, was always his top priority.

Building wealth through an ESOP

During this time of remarkable growth for the company, Brad’s personal wealth increased as well; his portfolio grew from less than $100k to more than $10 million. Throughout this time, we worked with Brad to help him understand the possibilities of what he could accomplish with his wealth. We also helped him build a tax-efficient portfolio that aligned with his goals for his family’s financial future.

A key element of this planning was taking full advantage of the opportunities to build wealth through his company’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). As the company grew, so too did the value of his stock in the ESOP. We helped Brad understand the risk and tax implications of this company stock and build up wealth in other accounts to make his holdings truly diversified.

Supporting a child’s special needs

Through our years of working with Brad, his devotion to his family was always evident. One of his primary goals was providing for a daughter who has special needs because of a medical condition. We helped Brad assess the various types of trusts and accounts that can be established to ensure that his child is cared for throughout her life. We then worked with Brad to create and fund a special-needs trust that will pay for his daughter’s medical and living expenses.