While most brokers and financial professionals in America focus on clients in the wealth accumulation phase of their careers, the retirement-focused advisors we partner with understand the importance of the decumulation phase of planning—creating income, protecting assets and helping ensure that clients have enough money to support their desired lifestyle without running out of money in retirement.
They also understand the importance of estate planning. Most of our advisors offer tax-advantaged wealth transfer strategies and most offer to partner with attorneys to create estate planning documents, but it’s sometimes hard to know if your recommendations have been followed.
An estate plan, simply stated, is a plan for the end. The most commonly known part of an estate plan is the last will and testament. The will is meant to be a complete list of assets left to beneficiaries after a client passes away, and it also typically lists an executor who is in charge of ensuring that beneficiaries receive the items and that all final financial matters are handled smoothly. For clients with minor children, it also names desired guardians.
Called different things in different states, an estate plan also includes advanced health care directives, proxies or living wills to provide direction or appoint someone when a client is incapacitated or unable to communicate with health care providers about their health care wishes, as well as durable powers of attorney to designate a person to handle their financial affairs if they are unable to do so. (NOTE: As a financial advisor, you should know who your client has chosen to handle their finances in the event of their incapacity.)
The estate plan sometimes includes trusts—revocable or irrevocable. There are many types of trusts used for different purposes, but the most common is the revokable living trust, which if structured properly—with assets properly transferred to it—can help a client avoid probate court. (Even with a trust, a will is still needed, sometimes called a pour-over will to handle all the personal items not addressed in the trust.)
Estate plans and wills and date back to ancient Greek and Roman times [1], providing final guidance for the bequeathing of things such as land and titles. But unfortunately, even with this ancient, time-proven precedent, research shows that 67% of Americans do not have an estate plan [2]—sometimes even very rich and famous people.
The fact is, almost everyone should have an estate plan as part of their financial plan. The question is, how can you as an advisor make that happen for your clients.
For your wealthiest clients who have complex finances, you should work closely with an estate attorney. (As an example, Quantum often works with advisors and attorneys to fund complex trusts, like Deferred Sales Trusts with life insurance.)
But for the many other clients out there with relatively straightforward financial situations, we now offer a seamless estate planning solution for our financial advisors.
Trust & Will is a company dedicated to simplifying the estate planning process, making it easier and more affordable for your clients to create their own estate plan. All documents from Trust & Will are reviewed by estate attorneys and are valid in all 50 states, helping remove legal variables from the equation. Additionally, your clients can complete a plan online on their own time and at their own pace. While sitting down with an estate planning attorney can take weeks of waiting and hours of meetings, clients can complete an estate plan with Trust & Will in just half an hour, easing the hassle and mental struggle of dealing with this issue.
Both client-friendly and advisor-friendly, Trust & Will allows both parties to access and track the documents through every step of the process. Advisors can do this for their clients through their own Advisor Dashboard, giving them access to pertinent client information for all their clients that use the service. This helps advisors stay involved in the process even after the documents are completed, making you the main point of contact for this incredibly important financial matter. Clients also have an accessible Client Dashboard, allowing them to view a complete picture of their assets, track progress in their documents, and easily make periodic edits to those documents if needed.
Trust & Will also takes a lot of the educational work off the advisor’s shoulders. While you may know how important each piece of an estate plan is, your clients may not, which is why Trust & Will explains each document and its role in preserving the client’s assets and legacy, which can be key with clients who don’t believe they have sufficient assets for an estate plan. Advisors may often be faced with clients who believe their belongings are too insignificant for an estate plan, but Trust & Will actually specializes in assisting clients with $5 million or less in total assets.
Clients working with Quantum advisors also get 10% off their plan when using a specifically designated code for each advisor, slicing the price even further on a service that could cost thousands of dollars for a client who goes directly to an estate planning attorney.
An estate plan is not a luxury in a financial plan. It’s a necessity. And without it, your clients and their families could be left in a compromising position that could cost them thousands of dollars and months in probate court. By utilizing Quantum’s partnership with Trust & Will, you can help eliminate that.
If you’re ready to implement Trust & Will into your practice, give your Quantum consultant a call at 800.440.1088.
LEARN MORE ABOUT TRUST & WILL
Podcast
Trust & Will’s head of advisor sales, Andres Mazabel, recently sat down with us for the Quantum Podcast to discuss the service and how it helps advisors provide more comprehensive services. You can listen to it by clicking here.
Webinar
We also recently hosted a webinar to discuss Trust & Will’s different features and options for both advisors and clients. To see exactly how easy the estate planning process has become for your clients, all while taking the most difficult part off your plate, click here to view our webinar.
Sources:
- https://trustandwill.com/learn/history-of-last-will-and-testament
- https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/11/67percent-of-americans-have-no-estate-plan-heres-how-to-get-started-on-one.html
Kim is life/health licensed and has worked in the life insurance industry since 1995. Kim spent 16 years at Northwestern Mutual and New York Life working her way from a field assistant to office manager. Because of her extensive experience, she brings a wealth of skills to Quantum. She has acquired the ability to analyze complex alternatives to meet client needs, find efficiencies in application processing, fulfill stringent insurance carrier compliance, and has built strong relationships with numerous carriers top underwriters. Learn More
