Wills & Trsut
Financial professionals guide clients through many important decisions, but often run into challenges when it comes to ensuring their clients’ legacies are secured with the advice of qualified lawyers.
Over the years, many of the clients have expressed the need for an efficient and effective set of estate planning services that can be delivered to them. Some clients, regardless of net worth, have relatively straightforward estate planning needs and prefer to interact with their financial services provider.
When forming an estate plan, a financial service professional plays a crucial role. As you are focused on the client’s finances, you can help prevent important financial information and procedures from slipping through the cracks.
How Does a Financial Professional Help with Estate Planning?
Although you play an important role in the entire estate planning process, here are some of the most vital areas where you can help your clients as their financial professionals.
As a financial professional, you can help set up retirement accounts for your clients as well as explain the tax benefits and beneficiary details for each one. You can also help them decide which type of account is best for their specific situation, financial goals, and budget.
Since most estate plans involve investment accounts, retirement accounts, and insurance policies, all of which have beneficiary designations, it’s important that you ensure your clients keep these designations up to date. You can provide recommendations for adjusting beneficiaries after any significant life change, such as a divorce, remarriage, or death of a loved one.
In addition to affecting beneficiaries, a significant life change can also impact other pieces of your client’s estate plan. As their financial advisor, you can point out how these changes might affect their financial future and provide suggestions for adjusting their accounts, income, and the other financial pieces of their estate plan.
One of the most important aspects of an estate plan is long-term care. Some clients may plan ahead with trusts or Long-Term Care Insurance, while others might wait and conduct Medicaid planning once they need care. Either way, you can help by speaking to the financial ramifications of long-term care and helping them find a solution that works for their financial situation.
All in all, as their financial professional, your role involves examining the financial impact of their estate plan and providing recommendations accordingly.
Seamlessly integrate estate planning into your practice.
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