Inheritance Guidance for Beneficiaries & Executors

 

Kind, calm, coordinated help, one step at a time.

If you’ve received an inheritance or are settling a loved one’s estate, you don’t have to figure it out alone. We’ll help you get organized, set priorities, and make calm, tax-aware decisions at a pace that respects what you’re going through.

 

Schedule a Call

 

Financial Planning for Managing Sudden Wealth

Sudden wealth can change your life. It can also leave you feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, and a little bit lost. An inheritance brings with it not just opportunity, but emotional and logistical challenges. 

Our CEO, Mike Callahan, understands this firsthand. 

MIKE'S STORY
Mike Callahan inheritance story Sachetta CEO

Grief doesn’t have a timeline.

 

When you’re ready, reach out and ask for Hanna. She’s walked this road and will guide you gently, one step at a time.

 
CONTACT US
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What You're Navigating Right Now

Receiving an inheritance in the midst of loss is complicated. There’s grief, paperwork, and a long list of “what now?” Whether you’re inheriting or also serving as executor, we’ll slow things down and make the next steps clear.

  • What this money means for you: Take time to decide how the inheritance supports your life, such as security, giving, education, or a special goal, and whether you want to honor your loved one in a specific way. We’ll shape a simple plan around your priorities.

  • Inherited accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s, brokerage): See everything in one place and understand the inherited IRA timing rules. As your advisors, we’ll guide consolidation decisions, an investment approach, and a withdrawal pace that fit your life and taxes.

  • Taxes: Understand what is and isn’t taxable, when inherited IRA withdrawals show up on your return, how step up in basis works before selling investments or a home, and whether you will receive any tax forms like a K 1.

  • An inherited home: Get a clear valuation and review calm options to keep, sell, or rent, with a fair process if siblings do not agree.

  • If you’re the executor: Confirm what the will or trust says, use a single checklist for roles and deadlines, track costs for reimbursement, and let us coordinate filings and paperwork with your estate attorney so nothing important slips.

However you arrived here, beneficiary, executor, or both, you do not have to carry it alone. We will meet you where you are and move one step at a time.

 

What Steady Progress Looks Like With the Right Plan

  • You feel supported and organized, with accounts all in one place, a plan with clear next steps, and someone you trust to help carry it out.

  • Your plan for the inheritance is clear, aligning new assets with your family’s priorities and risk comfort.

  • You stay ahead of inherited IRA timing, with a tax-aware pace that fits your life.

  • Family decisions feel fair and calm, using side-by-side comparisons for the home and investments.

  • Documents and filings are handled, with your attorney looped in and fewer errands on your plate.

  • Everything is current, from beneficiaries and titling to a short list of what comes next. 


Success here isn’t about moving fast; it’s about moving purposefully. With structure around the details, you have the space to grieve, remember, and move forward at a comfortable pace.

Financial Planning for an inheritance

What to Expect

 

A Structured Relationship

Onboarding takes about 4–6 weeks, or can be longer if you need more time. We start with a calm conversation about your priorities, we review your inheritance, income and expenses, tax returns, and accounts, design a coordinated plan across investments, taxes, estate planning, and insurance. From there, we'll implement the plan together with your attorney or insurance partners as needed.

When you're making big decisions, we can use our real-time modeling software for the “what-ifs” in life, so decisions are paced and thoughtful—not rushed or reactive. Our seasonal check-in schedule allows us to focus deeply on one area of the plan at a time, while also being ready to adapt when life changes.

Spring

Tax return delivery and forward-looking projections

Summer

Risk management — a review of your insurance and estate plan

Fall

Investment performance, what-ifs, and next year's planning

Transparent Fees. No Commissions. No Surprises.

We are a fee-only fiduciary firm, which means we don’t take commissions and we’re legally obligated to act in your best interest. No clock-watching. You’ll know your fee before we begin.

 

One Team for Your Full Financial Picture

At Sachetta, your advisors hold credentials in both financial planning and tax. That means your investment decisions, compensation, tax strategy, and risk management all happen in sync—not in silos.

We offer full-service financial guidance that includes:

Financial planning

tailored to your assets, income, and goals

Investment management

designed around your risk tolerance and to reduce tax drag and risk

Tax strategy and return preparation

by professionals who know your full picture

Risk management

through coordinated estate planning and insurance planning

 

When People Reach Out to Us

Some people call when they are named executor. Others reach out after they are told they inherited a retirement account and are not sure what to do with it or when to take money.

Sometimes there's a question about a life insurance payout, a family home, or Massachusetts estate tax. And sometimes it is simply that the details are piling up and you do not want to carry it alone.

 
SCHEDULE A CALL
Inheritance and executors in Massachusetts

Planning in Practice


Behind every financial plan is a real life—full of major events, family goals, and important decisions. These stories reflect the kinds of challenges our clients bring to us, and how we build calm, clear strategies in response. While stories are fiction, the strategies are true to life.

Click the cards below to read the stories:

Boston professional executor financial planning 43

When Daniel became executor after his dad passed, we turned a swirl of accounts and questions into a calm plan that kept his mom’s care seamless and the next steps clear.

Read the full story
Inheritance Sell Family Home Sachetta

Laura’s father died five years ago. With her mother’s recent passing, Laura and her brothers faced a second goodbye. Laura became executor (again), and this time she needed help.

Read the full story
Inherited Stock Charitable Gift Sachetta 1

Martin, an only child in Reading, MA, lost his dad in upstate New York. He inherited a large block of a longtime employer’s stock along with a wish to support a cancer nonprofit in his mom's memory. 

Read the full story

Whatever brings you here, you don’t need to untangle it alone.


Let’s talk through what’s going on, what’s ahead, and what coordinated planning could do for your peace of mind.

Schedule a Call

 

Last updated October 3, 2025.