Estate planning can be a difficult topic for financial advisors to get on board with.  Many advisors believe that estate planning should be left to the lawyers who draft up the documentation for clients and would prefer to stick to topics such as social security and retirement planning. We believe differently. With many advisors already using our Estate Planning topic for workshops, we know how lucrative it can be.  Here are three reasons why financial advisors should be marketing estate planning:

1)    You are ALREADY doing estate planning!

Yes, the legal documents surrounding estate planning require an attorney. However, what good are those documents if your clients do not have the correct paperwork on file with their different investment companies before passing? Dean Thurman, financial advisor and co-founder of White Glove, explains, “We need to help the general public transfer their assets from one generation to the next, legally — minimizing taxes, minimizing difficulties, and mistakes with beneficiaries. You as a financial advisor are doing estate planning everyday,” Dean says.

You are the business professional who ensures that the required legal documentation is submitted correctly on every account for your client. When the day comes that the will/trust/estate needs to begin, it will start flawlessly because of the prep work you put in for your clients!

2)    Estate Planning does not begin AFTER death.

Dean states, “Estate planning means making moves while clients are alive. Those other documents kick in when they pass.”  He explains that your knowledge of bracket topping, 529s, and capital gains (among other things) are all part of the estate planning process and can protect your client’s estate from unnecessary income and state taxes.  

3)    Social Security advice does not pay the bills.

Mike Thurman, co-founder of White Glove and retired financial advisor, explains that although estate planning can be intimidating for financial advisors to market, social security advice is not a sustainable topic of conversation. Mike explains, “Nobody gets paid for giving social security advice, so eventually there has to be a pivot from Social Security to what you normally do as your day job… which is estate planning.” He continues, “You combat this by saying you are a retirement income professional.  One leg of my three-leg income stool is Social Security.  The other leg is your own savings, and the third leg is retirement planning.  We need to see how all of those legs are working together in order to plan for your legacy.” This legacy, regardless of the client’s net worth, is their estate.

The last piece of the financial plan puzzle is the estate plan. The number one reason that people fail financially is because they procrastinate. By marketing yourself as an estate planning professional, you can help prevent your clients from falling short of their financial goals.  

If you are interested in hosting an Estate Planning workshop to reach a larger audience of those in need of your services, we have the tools for you. Our estate planning topics are proven to attract individuals with higher intent to work with a financial professional and who know they need an estate plan, but do not have one yet.  To learn more about these workshops, reach out to an Executive Marketing Consultant by phone (844) 949-9497 or visit our website.  

‍