What is the background on how the client was introduced to our firm?
The Barnes family was brought in by an employee of our (now closed) Raleigh office in 2021.
Who all was involved in the case from start to finish (Balefire team members and outside advisors if applicable)? What were their roles?
- Planning team – Crystal, Alana, Greg and Sue
- Current Wealth Advisor Team – Chris and Lori, George and Jason
- Insurance Team – Steven and Erica
What problems did we help the client solve?
Existing estate and insurance documents were a (previously unidentified) hot mess; we started the engagement by fixing those.
Estimated estate taxes are expected to be $98M at life expectancy at a mere 3% growth but the business has averaged annual growth of 20%+ for the last 5 years; we executed an estate freeze strategy.
The family does not have liquidity to pay estate taxes, which would put both the family and the company in jeopardy; we are executing estate liquidity insurance with both internal and external financing.
Were there any challenges along the way?
How did you overcome them?
The clients were working with a corporate attorney who dabbled in T&E and repeatedly ignored his clients’ wishes. Consequently, his work was full of errors; the client eventually replaced the attorney.
The clients require $140M of life insurance to provide the necessary net estate liquidity. Securing a life insurance program of this size requires the strategic placement of multiple insurance policies in both the regular and reinsurance markets; our highly qualified team has the experience and expertise to tackle this project.
What was the total revenue generated from this case?
Almost $3M in 2026.