Strategic Legacy & Wealth Planning in Minnesota
When planning for the future—whether for your personal wealth, your business or the legacy you wish to leave behind—having a trusted partner who understands all the pieces matters. Innovative Legacy Solutions, located in Baxter, Minnesota, provides a consultative and integrated approach for individuals and businesses alike. Their model spans individual insurance and wealth strategies, business benefits and succession planning, and legacy/estate architecture. In this post, we’ll walk through their services, what sets them apart, how to evaluate a legacy-planning firm, and how to prepare ahead of a planning conversation.
Who They Are & What They Do
Innovative Legacy Solutions is based at 7153 Forthun Rd #130, Baxter, MN 56425.
They serve both individuals and businesses, offering a broad suite of services categorized as:
- Individual Solutions: Including health insurance & ancillary coverage, life insurance, wealth preservation, tax-diversification planning, Medicare, home & auto insurance.
- Business Solutions: Employee benefits design and service, key-person programs, “golden handcuff” strategies, business insurance, buy-sell agreements, business succession planning.
- Legacy Solutions: Estate planning & preservation, tax-free retirement planning, annuities, premium financing, and specialized tools like “Kaizen Premium Funding”.
Their stated four-step approach is “Listen → Collaborate → Review → Ongoing Support.”
They emphasize that “Details matter to us” and that they bring a mix of local, consultative service backed by national-level carriers and tools.
Why Their Approach Matters
Here are some of the reasons the approach of Innovative Legacy Solutions stands out:
- Comprehensive coverage: Many firms focus only on insurance, or only on estate planning or only on business succession. Here, the integration of individual, business and legacy services means fewer gaps.
- Local and industry-wide experience: Their website notes decades of experience across industries (agribusiness, real-estate, technology, finance) and they claim consistent ranking in the top 5% of benefit agencies nationally.
- Tailored to Minnesota: Estate rules, tax laws, business succession issues vary by state—and they emphasize their familiarity with Minnesota context.
- Focus on legacy rather than just today: For many clients, planning stops at “what do I need now”. This firm emphasizes “what do you want to leave behind, what do you want future generations to have” (whether that’s business value, wealth or both).
Services in More Detail
Here’s a breakdown of key service areas and what you should ask or expect:
Estate Planning & Preservation
- They help with wills, trusts, asset transfers, estate tax strategies and funding of legacy vehicles.
- Ask: How do they coordinate with attorneys, tax advisors and other professionals? What experience do they have with Minnesota’s state-level laws (estate tax, probate)?
- Ask: What ongoing review mechanism is in place—for example if laws or circumstances change?
Tax-Free Retirement & Wealth Preservation
- They highlight use of life-insurance-based strategies (IRS Code § 7702), annuities and premium-financing for tax-efficient retirement income and legacy funding.
- Ask: What are the risks? What assumptions (growth rates, fees, tax law) underlie the strategy?
- Ask: Are simpler alternatives (e.g., traditional retirement accounts) considered or explained?
Business Solutions & Succession Planning
- For business-owners: design of employee benefits, key-person plans, golden-handcuffs, buy-sell agreements and leadership transitions.
- Ask: How do they help protect business value and ensure continuity after exit or retirement?
- Ask: How is the benefit structure aligned with both employer cost management and employee value?
Individual Insurance & Ancillary / Personal Planning
- They cover life insurance, health & ancillary coverage, tax diversification, Medicare planning, home/auto insurance.
- Ask: How do they coordinate personal policies with overall legacy strategy (so they don’t operate in silos)?
What to Look for When Choosing a Legacy & Wealth Advisor
Selecting the right partner is important. Here are criteria you’ll want to assess:
- Holistic vs siloed advice: Do they view your estate, retirement, business, insurance in an integrated way or just sell product by product?
- Local law & tax expertise: Especially in Minnesota, state-specific rules matter.
- Coordination with other professionals: Estate attorneys, CPAs, business attorneys. Does the advisor work in a team?
- Ongoing service: Legacy planning is not “set it and forget it”. Does the advisor provide regular review and adjustment?
- Transparency of cost and assumptions: Are fees, policy costs, and growth assumptions clearly outlined?
- Client testimonials / track record: Are there reviews or case studies you can examine? For example, Innovative Legacy Solutions posts testimonials on their site.
- Value alignment: Do they listen to your values and goals (not just your current “assets”) and treat you as a person/family rather than a product transaction?
How to Prepare Before Meeting Them
To get the most from the first meeting (and to be ready for meaningful discussion), come prepared with:
- A summary of your current assets (investments, business interests, real estate, life insurance, retirement accounts).
- Notes on your goals: What legacy do you wish to leave? What business succession outcomes do you desire? What retirement lifestyle do you envision?
- Any existing estate documents, insurance policies, retirement plans, buy-sell or business agreements.
- A list of questions: e.g., “How do your tax-free retirement strategies compare to conventional methods?”, “How will you coordinate with my attorney?”, “What does review and update look like over time?”
- Clarity on your timeline: Are you planning for imminent succession, retirement in 5 years, or generational transition in 15+ years?
- Understand the cost structure: Ask how they are compensated (flat fee, commission, asset-based fee, insurance placement) and what you’re paying for.
- Consider bringing key stakeholders: spouse, business partner, attorney—especially if business succession or shared assets are involved.
Why Innovative Legacy Solutions is a Strong Choice in the Region
Putting together their strengths in this region:
- Local presence in Baxter, MN means face-to-face access and familiarity with Minnesota’s legal/tax environment.
- Depth of experience: Their team claims decades of cross-industry experience and strong track-record rankings in benefits.
- Integrated service platform: By spanning individual, business and legacy services, they reduce the chance of gaps that can occur when multiple advisors work independently.
- Focused on values and legacy: Their messaging emphasises not just “financial products” but “what do you want your legacy to be?” which often yields better alignment and satisfaction.
- Ongoing support and review: Their approach includes “ongoing support” after strategy formulation, which is critical for legacy plans that may span decades.
Final Thoughts
If you’re a Minnesota-based individual, family, or business owner looking for more than “one-and-done” advice—if you aim to protect your assets, transition your business thoughtfully, build tax-efficient retirement and leave a meaningful legacy—then Innovative Legacy Solutions offers a comprehensive, locally grounded option. Use this post as a reference when comparing advisors: evaluate their process, ask the right questions, clarify timelines and assumptions, and ensure alignment with your values and goals. For a general primer on estate planning in Minnesota (legal and tax context), you may refer to the Minnesota State Bar Association’s consumer guide on wills & trusts.