MVA
ServicesMVA · Quakertown, PA

Estate, Trust & Fiduciary Services in Pennsylvania

Generational transfer, fiduciary tax, and trust accounting: the slow-burn work that quietly preserves wealth across decades, handled by the firm that already knows the business.

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Estate plans drift after signing

Exemptions change, trust income compresses into the top federal bracket within roughly the first $15,000, and Pennsylvania inheritance tax arrives on a nine-month clock most families learn about at the worst possible time. Executors and trustees inherit filing duties nobody explained.

Fiduciary work beside the business engagement

The firm that plans the owner’s tax and keeps the books also prepares the 1041s, the accountings, and the succession mechanics, coordinated with your attorney, not working around them. Annual reviews keep gifting limits, exemptions, and trust mechanics current year after year.

How this saves you money
  • Reduce estate tax exposure. Gifting strategies, GRATs, and ILITs that move appreciation outside the taxable estate before it compounds.
  • Keep trust income out of the top bracket. Trusts reach the highest federal rate at roughly $15,000 of income. Distribution timing and fiduciary tax planning keep more of it taxed at beneficiary rates instead.
  • Make the Pennsylvania clock work for you. PA inheritance tax (0% spouse · 4.5% lineal · 12% sibling · 15% other) allows a 5% discount when paid within three months of death. We run REV-1500 on a timeline that captures it.
  • Succession without the fire sale. Buy-sell mechanics, valuation methodology, and tax-aware deal structure for moving an owner-led business to the next generation.
  • Plans that stay current. Annual reviews keep gifting limits, exemptions, and trust mechanics aligned with the tax code as it changes.

Filings handled: Form 1041 · Form 706 · Form 709 · decedent Form 1040 · PA REV-1500 · fiduciary accountings

How the engagement runs

  1. 01 · Estate & entity inventory

    We map what is owned, how it is titled, what the documents say, and where the current plan has drifted from the code.

  2. 02 · Transfer strategy

    Gifting, trust structures, and succession mechanics modeled against exemptions, basis step-up, and the business’s real numbers.

  3. 03 · Fiduciary compliance

    Form 1041s, estate and gift returns, Pennsylvania inheritance tax, and court-ready trust accountings, on the deadlines that carry discounts and penalties.

  4. 04 · Annual review

    Exemptions, gifting limits, and trust mechanics rechecked every year so the plan keeps pace with the code and the family.

Transfers on the family’s terms

Appreciation moved out of the taxable estate early, trust income taxed at the right rates, the inheritance-tax discount captured, and executors who are never guessing about what is due nine months in.

Who this is forOwner-led businesses in transition · Multi-generation family businesses · Executors & personal representatives · Trustees & fiduciaries · Real estate holding families · High-net-worth households

Common questions

What does a CPA do in estate planning that an attorney does not?
The attorney drafts the documents; we run the numbers behind them, from projections and basis analysis to fiduciary returns and valuation coordination, and keep the plan current after signing.
I was named executor or trustee. What filings am I responsible for?
Commonly: the decedent’s final Form 1040, fiduciary income tax returns (Form 1041), Pennsylvania inheritance tax (REV-1500, due nine months after death, with a 5% discount if paid within three), and potentially federal estate (706) or gift (709) returns. We manage the calendar so nothing surprises you.
Does Pennsylvania really tax inheritances?
Yes, separately from the federal estate tax and with no large exemption: 0% to a surviving spouse, 4.5% to children and lineal heirs, 12% to siblings, and 15% to most others. Titling and timing matter even for estates far below the federal threshold.
When should succession planning start?
Years before the transition. Gifting strategies and valuation work need runway, and buy-sell mechanics are cheapest to fix before anyone needs them. The annual review keeps it moving.

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