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Why should every family consider estate planning? Here are five reasons: 1. Safeguarding Accumulated Wealth: Estate planning establishes a legal framework to protect the assets you've tirelessly worked to accumulate. 2. Strategizing the Future of Assets: It facilitates careful and strategic planning for the future management and utilization of your assets. 3. Fulfilling Your Wishes: Estate planning ensures that your specific intentions regarding the distribution and management of your assets are clearly understood and implemented. 4. Minimizing Transfer Losses: A well-crafted estate plan can minimize losses that can occur during the transfer of assets, such as taxes, legal fees, and other related expenses. 5. Preventing Conflicts and Disputes: A thoroughly planned estate significantly reduces the potential for family conflicts and legal disputes over asset distribution upon your passing. --- If you're a financial advisor reading this, I encourage you to delve deeper into the field of estate planning. This area, often overlooked, can tremendously enhance the value of the service you offer to your clients. Additionally, estate planning can open doors to meaningful conversations about your clients' values, priorities, and family dynamics, deepening your client-advisor relationship. As you navigate these essential discussions, you'll gain trust and establish a lasting rapport that can span generations.

#EstatePlanning may be a complex process for you if you have a large estate or own a business. Read our blog to learn more: https://loom.ly/Kt1fXns

Financial professionals play crucial roles in improving the estate planning process for their clients. As attorneys get more comfortable working together with shared clients, you may also improve your professional referral sources and connections to centers of influence. This is a fun article that explores all the ways you can provide estate planning guidance for clients, whether that's by being the "director" or "critic."

As we reflect on one year and look towards the next, it's worth remembering that estate planning is not just a financial strategy; it's a comprehensive approach to secure your legacy, protect your loved ones, and navigate the uncertainties of the future. By proactively addressing legal, financial, and personal considerations, you can ensure that your estate plan remains robust and adaptable to the evolving times. Don't wait—start the year by prioritizing your future and the well-being of those you hold dear through thoughtful and thorough estate planning, contact your Attorney or Trusted Advisor today.

Estate planning ensures your assets are managed and distributed according to your wishes. In this video, we cover: • The basics and importance of estate planning • Key components like durable power of attorney and advance medical directives • Common mistakes and tips to avoid them At M Financial Planning Services, our comprehensive financial plans include estate planning, helping you protect your loved ones and secure your future. For more insights, watch the video and read our detailed blog article (link in comments). If you have questions or need personalized advice, feel free to contact our team.

What are your thoughts on financial advisors entering the estate planning space with tech tools like Wealth.com and EncorEstate Plans ? I’ve got some great connections here that practice law in the Estate planning space. Many of them are understandably concerned about generalists entering the space and screwing up client outcomes, or giving legal advice inadvertently, or just having no clue what they’re doing. A handful I have met though, the minority mind you, have made statements like “financial advisors and tech are coming for our income!” It seems to me that the concerns are valid (as FAs we have all met the idiots doing our job who have no business being here), however I see all of these companies popping up as a way of meeting a need that isn’t being met sufficiently. When I have reviewed client estate docs, even ones drafted by attorneys, the clients often times have no idea what they are, and sometimes they no longer match the client wishes or have glaring shortcomings (unfunded trust, etc.). I can remember sitting like a fly on the wall as a client met with an EP attorneys intake specialist (who is not licensed btw). The intake specialist spent an hour trying to convince my client, who explicitly said she didn’t trust her sons, and who had 2mm in her portfolio, 400k in ltc and very low spending, to put her assets in a Medicaid trust and make her sons the trustees. I got to see legal advice given from someone who had 8 weeks before been working as a marketing specialist for a newspaper! And this was in an elder care/EP attorneys office, not someone who did wills on the side. My point is, while the concerns and criticisms from EP attorneys are things I can understand and agree with, the current transactional nature most attorneys take with estate planning puts a lot of responsibility on the client to make sure their plan stays in order and is executed correctly. What do you think?

During the Estate Planning process, we create customized, comprehensive plans that cover our clients’ wishes should something happen to them. Clients must appoint someone to administer their wishes, which typically is a trusted family member, friend, or can also be a corporate trustee or private professional fiduciary. We always remind our clients that their appointed successor must know that there is an Estate Plan, that they have been nominated to play an important role, and where they can access the Estate Plan and other important documents. Is there anyone else that will know now or someday about your Estate Plan? This blog post seeks to answer these two questions. https://lnkd.in/g-HY_vjy

Estate planning is a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of financial planning. Traditionally, the process has been associated with high costs and complex legal procedures, deterring many individuals, especially young couples and those in lower-income brackets, from securing their future. This is where LegalGEN steps in, offering a revolutionary online estate planning solution designed to empower attorneys and make estate planning accessible and affordable for everyone. What is LegalGEN? https://lnkd.in/dVp8gpki

Financial advisors who don’t think estate planning adds value to your business - think again. Estate planning is one of the best things you can do as an advisor to understand your customers better and drive value over time. Why is that? Estate planning is the most in-depth, personal project you can possibly take on with your client. When you do, you’re essentially taking a lifelong view of their financial interests - and in a way that implicates their family, loved ones, values, and priorities. When you learn all that about a client, you inevitably deepen that advisor-client relationship. And you also come to understand their financial sensibilities in a way you wouldn’t have otherwise. With that in mind, you can position yourself as a holistic, comprehensive planner that can guide them for the long term. What’s more valuable than that?

Choosing a trustee for your estate? Here are key qualities to look for: ▶️ Trustworthiness ▶️ Financial acumen ▶️Communication skills ▶️ Attention to detail Select wisely for effective estate management! Read more here https://bit.ly/3JZ3LCi