When a new client comes to me with significant wealth, often following a liquidity event or the accumulation of a concentrated stock position, their assets aren’t sitting in a single brokerage account. Instead, their wealth is typically spread across a complex web of trusts, holding companies, and private businesses.

Standard financial planning falls short at this level of complexity, which demands a planning framework that coordinates the moving pieces rather than just managing the investments.

How Do You Manage Liquidity With Concentrated Business Assets?

If you have significant exposure to an operating business or a concentrated stock position, you have to treat that asset as illiquid, regardless of how frequently it trades. We build a “safety net” portfolio around it, ensuring that your personal financial goals are not entirely dependent on the performance of a single holding.

To do this effectively, we segment your capital into the following areas:

• Ongoing Lifestyle Needs: Ensuring your day-to-day requirements are fully funded and decoupled from the volatility of your business or concentrated position.
• Major One-Time Expenses: Earmarking funds for significant life moments, such as the purchase of a new home or a major philanthropic commitment, without disrupting your primary holdings.
• Long-Term Capital Requirements: Proactively accounting for the heavy hitters, such as legacy gifts and the specific liquidity needed to cover New Jersey’s unique tax requirements.

What Are the Hidden Risks in a Multi-Generational Estate?

When wealth is spread across multiple trusts and businesses, it’s easy to lose sight of how those pieces interact. Traditional diversification often overlooks the hidden correlations between your private and public holdings.

For example, if you own a New Jersey-based manufacturing business, adding local commercial real estate within the same industry compounds your risk instead of lowering it. Protection for a complex estate involves intentionally exploring assets that provide uncorrelated cash flow. The goal is to identify structures that are fundamentally decoupled from your core business, ensuring your overall estate remains resilient even if your primary industry faces a downturn.

How Does the New Jersey Inheritance Tax Affect Estate Transfers?

While New Jersey doesn’t have an estate tax, it remains one of the few states with an inheritance tax.

This tax is levied on the recipient of the assets, and its impact depends entirely on their relationship to you. Immediate family members, including spouses, children, and grandchildren are exempt; however, the “liquidity trap” hits when assets are passed to siblings or more distant relatives.

Your planning framework must account for this. Because the state often requires a formal tax waiver before certain assets can be fully transferred, an unplanned tax bill can stall the transfer of a family enterprise before the next generation even takes the reins.

Why Do Complex Estates Need an Integrated Strategy?

If you’ve outgrown traditional portfolio models, you don’t just need a new investment mix—you need a team of specialists who talk to each other. At this level, your most valuable asset is an integrated strategy.

If your wealth is spread across multiple entities or concentrated in a single win, your strategy should reflect that complexity. Book a call with Brian Flynn and the Journey Strategic Wealth team today to review your planning framework and ensure your structure is ready for New Jersey’s unique requirements.

This material is distributed for informational purposes only. Investment Advisory services offered through Journey Strategic Wealth, a registered investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The views expressed are for informational purposes only and do not take into account any individual’s personal, financial, or tax considerations. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Please see Journey Strategic Wealth’s Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS for additional information.

Securities offered through Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, Member FINRA/SIPC, Headquartered at 80 State Street, Albany NY 12207. Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments and Journey Strategic Wealth are not affiliated companies. Not FDIC Insured. Not Bank Guaranteed. May lose value including loss of principal. Not insured by any state or federal agency.