Nearly 70% of dental practices have no formal succession or estate plan in place. This oversight risks everything dentists have built—assets, family stability, and patient care continuity.

Dentists possess unique assets requiring specific estate planning strategies. Wood & Delgado creates tailored estate plans to secure your practice, assets, and legacy. Protect your future today: call (800) 499-1474.

Importance of Estate Planning for Dental Professionals

Protection of Assets

A dentist’s estate involves more than personal wealth. It includes a practice, valuable dental equipment, real estate, and intellectual property. Proper planning shields these assets from excessive taxation and creditor claims, bypassing lengthy probate processes.

Continuity of Patient Care

Patient relationships built over years rely heavily on your continued presence. A clear estate plan assigns immediate management responsibility, ensuring uninterrupted patient care in cases of illness or sudden death. Without one, your practice risks closure, harming patients and significantly devaluing your business.

Tax Minimization Strategies

Estate taxes substantially reduce assets intended for your family. Effective estate planning leverages IRS allowances, such as the unified credit exemption (Internal Revenue Code §§2010-2015), maximizing the wealth transferred to heirs while minimizing tax exposure.

Providing for Family Members

Well-documented estate directives remove ambiguity about asset distribution, thereby reducing family disputes. Clear instructions also provide specific financial protections for dependents, including minor children and family members with disabilities or special needs.

Key Components of an Estate Plan for Dentists

Last Will and Testament

A will explicitly details asset distribution for both personal and business-related properties. Clearly naming executors and beneficiaries prevents confusion, maintains control, and ensures alignment with your intentions upon your passing.

Durable Financial Power of Attorney

A trusted individual gains authority to manage finances and business decisions if you become incapacitated. This document explicitly outlines authority limits, reducing misuse risk and ensuring your practice remains financially secure under unforeseen circumstances.

Healthcare Proxy and Living Will

Healthcare proxies grant a representative decision-making authority regarding your medical care if incapacitation occurs. A living will provides explicit instructions regarding medical treatments, reducing emotional stress on family members and ensuring your preferences prevail.

Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts

• Revocable Trusts allow you to maintain asset control during your lifetime while avoiding probate after your death.
• Irrevocable Trusts provide heightened asset protection, reduce tax liabilities, and shield your estate from creditors and lawsuits.

Special Estate Planning Considerations for Dental Practices

Professional Practice Valuation

Regular practice valuation ensures accurate, fair market assessments. These valuations directly inform estate distribution, buy-sell agreements, and taxation, protecting the true worth of your dental practice for your heirs.

Succession and Continuity Planning

Defining clear succession guidelines addresses practice transfer upon retirement, incapacity, or death. Plans must comply with state dental board licensure regulations, such as California Business & Professions Code §1625-1636, to ensure lawful practice transitions.

Buy-Sell Agreements

Buy-sell agreements establish predetermined conditions under which ownership transfers, such as death or retirement. These agreements provide legally enforceable guidelines protecting your practice’s value, ensuring swift, controlled transitions without operational disruptions.

Legal Instruments and Strategies Specific to Dental Professionals

Professional Corporation (PC) or LLC Provisions

Clearly drafted provisions define how shares in a dental Professional Corporation or LLC membership interests transfer after death or disability. Compliance with state-specific regulations, such as New York’s Business Corporation Law §§1501-1515, ensures your estate transfers without complications.

Specialized Dental Practice Trusts

Trusts tailored specifically to dental practices manage ownership and operational control during estate transitions. They provide protection against probate complications and ensure assets transfer smoothly to your designated successors.

Dual Wills Strategy

Dual wills separate personal assets from professional practice assets, allowing strategic allocation. In states with probate fees tied to asset value, such as Illinois (755 ILCS 5/), dual wills significantly reduce costs and expedite estate settlement.

Role of Estate Planning Attorneys for Dental Professionals

Comprehensive Knowledge of Dental Industry Regulations

Attorneys experienced with dental-specific regulations, licensure, and practice ownership understand complexities others overlook. Their knowledge ensures estate plans adhere strictly to local, state, and federal regulations governing dental practices.

Customized Estate Plan Creation

Effective estate plans for dentists never rely on generic templates. Attorneys craft plans reflecting each dentist’s unique asset mix, practice type, family dynamics, and state-specific tax laws, ensuring maximum effectiveness and legal compliance.

Guidance on Tax Compliance and Asset Protection

Estate planning attorneys proactively use IRS-approved legal mechanisms—trusts, gifting strategies, and exemptions—to minimize tax obligations. Additionally, asset protection strategies shield dentists from malpractice claims, creditor actions, and business liabilities, preserving estate integrity.

Why Us: Wood & Delgado’s Advantage in Estate Planning for Dentists

• Exclusive Focus on Dentists: Our firm dedicates itself solely to dental professionals, addressing your distinct estate planning needs comprehensively.
• Experienced in Dental Practice Valuations: We accurately evaluate practice worth, guiding strategic decisions that preserve your business's value during estate transfers.
• Strategic Tax Planning: Wood & Delgado utilizes proactive estate tax reduction methods, including dual wills, irrevocable trusts, and specialized asset protection structures, maximizing your legacy.
• Customized Solutions: Every dentist has unique personal, professional, and financial needs. Our attorneys design tailored plans, eliminating one-size-fits-all inefficiencies.
• National Scope and State-Specific Experience: Regardless of your location, Wood & Delgado’s nationwide service ensures compliance with state-specific dental and estate planning laws.
• Continuous Guidance and Support: We offer regular reviews and adjustments to keep your estate plan aligned with changing personal circumstances, practice structures, and evolving tax codes.

Preserve Your Legacy with Wood & Delgado

Your practice represents more than wealth—it embodies your life’s work, patient relationships, and professional dedication. Leaving its future to chance means risking everything.

Ensure your legacy remains strong, purposeful, and lasting.

Secure your future now. Call Wood & Delgado today at (800) 499-1474.