Sixty percent of affluent Americans lack updated estate plans. That's not just a statistic. It's a massive opportunity for advisors who ignore estate planning, and a competitive advantage for those who don't.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: most clients won't update their estate plans on their own. They won't call their attorney after having a child, getting divorced, or accumulating another $2 million in assets. They'll procrastinate until it's too late.

But they will talk to you, their financial advisor, several times a year. And if you're coordinating their estate planning as part of comprehensive wealth management, you'll catch these changes and ensure their estate plan stays current. That's how you protect clients and differentiate your practice.

Understanding Your Role vs The Attorney's Role

Let's be crystal clear about boundaries. You're not an estate planning attorney, and you shouldn't pretend to be.

Attorneys draft documents, provide legal advice, create trusts, and handle compliance with state and federal laws. That's their domain. Don't draft wills, don't recommend specific trust language, and don't give legal advice on estate planning strategies.

Your role is different but just as valuable. You're the coordinator. You're reviewing estate documents to make sure they align with the financial plan. You're identifying when estate planning needs arise. You're making sure beneficiary designations match estate planning intentions. You're monitoring for life changes that require estate plan updates. And you're connecting clients with quality estate planning attorneys. The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) maintains a directory of experienced estate planning attorneys nationwide.

The best model is collaborative. You identify the need ("Your estate is $8 million and you have no trust. We should discuss estate tax planning with an attorney"). The attorney drafts the strategy and documents. You implement the financial aspects (retitling assets, funding trusts, adjusting beneficiaries). Then you monitor ongoing and alert when updates are needed.

This isn't about replacing attorneys. It's about ensuring estate planning actually happens and stays current. Most estate planning failures aren't because attorneys did poor work. They're because plans never got created, never got updated, or never got properly implemented. That's where you add value.

Essential Estate Planning Documents

Every client needs these foundational documents, and you should be asking about them regularly.

Last Will and Testament directs asset distribution, names guardians for minor children, and appoints executors. Sounds basic, but you'd be shocked how many wealthy clients don't have current wills. Or worse, they have wills from 20 years ago naming ex-spouses or deceased parents as executors.

Your job isn't drafting the will. It's making sure one exists, it's current, and it aligns with the client's intentions and your overall financial plan. When was it last updated? Are beneficiaries still appropriate? Does it line up with trust planning and beneficiary designations?

Revocable living trusts avoid probate, provide privacy, and enable continuity if the client becomes incapacitated. For clients with $1 million+ in assets or property in multiple states, trusts usually make sense. But trusts only work if they're funded. You need to ensure assets actually got transferred into the trust, which many attorneys don't follow up on.

Durable power of attorney for financial matters lets someone manage finances if the client becomes incapacitated. Without this, families end up in court seeking conservatorship. Who's named? Is it current? Are backups designated? This document is critical but often overlooked.

Healthcare power of attorney and HIPAA authorization lets someone make medical decisions and access medical information. This is separate from financial POA and equally important. Many families discover they can't get medical information or make decisions during emergencies because these documents don't exist or weren't brought to the hospital.

Living will and advance directives specify end-of-life care preferences. Do clients want life support? Feeding tubes? These conversations are uncomfortable, but having these documents prevents family conflict during the worst possible times.

Letter of instruction isn't legally binding but incredibly valuable. Where are accounts? What's the safe deposit box combination? What are the passwords? Who should be notified? This document makes the executor's job manageable. Encourage clients to create one and update it regularly.

Beneficiary Coordination

This is where most estate plans fail, and it's entirely within your domain as an advisor.

IRA and retirement account beneficiaries bypass the will and trust. These assets go directly to whoever is named on the beneficiary form, regardless of what the will says. You need to review these regularly.

Common mistakes: naming the estate as beneficiary (forces taxable distribution and loses stretch opportunities), naming trusts without considering the SECURE Act 10-year rule, forgetting to update after divorce, or naming minor children directly without trust protection.

Best practice: review all retirement account beneficiaries annually. Ensure primary and contingent beneficiaries are current. Coordinate with estate attorney if trusts are involved as beneficiaries. Document the review in your files.

Life insurance beneficiary review is equally critical. Insurance proceeds bypass probate and go directly to named beneficiaries. Make sure beneficiaries still make sense, coordinate with estate tax planning, and account for changed circumstances.

For large policies, consider whether the trust should be the beneficiary for estate tax purposes or if spouse and children should receive proceeds directly. This requires coordination with the estate attorney.

Transfer on death and payable on death accounts are simple beneficiary designations on bank and brokerage accounts. They work fine for straightforward situations but can conflict with trust planning. If the client has a comprehensive trust plan, TOD designations might undermine it by keeping assets outside the trust.

Trust as beneficiary considerations get complicated post-SECURE Act. Naming trusts as IRA beneficiaries used to be common for control and asset protection. Now, with the 10-year rule, it often creates adverse tax outcomes. This requires careful analysis with the estate attorney.

Contingent beneficiary importance can't be overstated. If the primary beneficiary predeceases the account owner and there's no contingent, assets go through probate. Always have contingent beneficiaries named.

Trust Strategies Overview

You're not drafting trusts, but you need to understand common strategies to coordinate the financial planning.

Revocable vs irrevocable trusts serve different purposes. Revocable trusts (living trusts) provide probate avoidance and incapacity planning but don't reduce estate taxes. Irrevocable trusts can reduce estate taxes and provide asset protection but can't be easily changed.

Credit shelter trusts (also called bypass or B trusts) were essential when estate tax exemptions were lower. They're less critical now with $13.61 million per person exemption, but still matter in states with lower estate tax thresholds or for very large estates.

Irrevocable life insurance trusts remove life insurance from the taxable estate. For clients with large policies and estates approaching or exceeding exemption amounts, ILITs can save millions in estate taxes. You're helping coordinate the policy ownership transfer and annual gift funding.

Qualified personal residence trusts freeze the value of a home for estate tax purposes while allowing the grantor to live there. These work for clients with valuable homes and estate tax concerns. Your role is evaluating whether the complexity is worth the benefit.

Grantor retained annuity trusts transfer appreciating assets out of the estate while the grantor receives annuity payments. GRATs are popular for transferring stock or business interests. You're modeling the financial impact and coordinating with the attorney on structure.

Charitable remainder trusts provide income to the grantor for life, remainder to charity. They offer tax deductions, eliminate capital gains on highly appreciated assets, and create income streams. You're analyzing whether the economics make sense for the client's situation.

Estate Tax Planning

With current exemptions at $13.61 million per person (2025), most clients don't have federal estate tax concerns. But don't ignore it entirely.

Federal estate tax exemption is high now but scheduled to sunset to $5 million (inflation-adjusted) in 2026 unless Congress acts. The IRS estate tax information page provides current exemption amounts and filing requirements. For clients with $7-15 million estates, plan for both scenarios.

State estate tax considerations affect more clients. Sixteen states have estate or inheritance taxes with exemptions as low as $1 million. Know the rules in your clients' states of residence and where they own property.

Portability election allows surviving spouses to use the deceased spouse's unused exemption. Sounds automatic but requires filing an estate tax return (Form 706) within nine months of death, even if no tax is owed. The IRS guidance on portability explains filing requirements and deadlines. Many families miss this and lose millions in exemption. Your job is alerting executors to file.

Gifting strategies reduce taxable estates. Annual exclusion gifts ($18,000 per recipient in 2025) require no reporting and don't use lifetime exemption. Lifetime exemption gifts ($13.61M in 2025) reduce the estate but may make sense for large estates. You're modeling the impact and coordinating execution.

Valuation discount strategies for family businesses or real estate can significantly reduce estate taxes. Limited partnership interests might be valued at 30-40% discounts for lack of control and marketability. This requires business valuation expertise and careful execution.

Generation-skipping transfer tax applies to transfers to grandchildren or younger. It has its own exemption (equal to estate tax exemption) and requires planning for families wanting to provide for multiple generations.

Asset Titling Strategies

How assets are titled matters enormously and is often overlooked.

Individual ownership means assets pass through the estate per the will. Simple and provides maximum control but requires probate.

Joint tenants with rights of survivorship means assets pass automatically to the surviving joint owner outside probate. Common for married couples but can create problems in second marriages or when estate tax planning is needed.

Tenants in common means each owner controls their portion, which passes through their estate. Useful for business partners or siblings owning property together.

Community property states have special rules for married couples. Community property assets get a full step-up in basis at first death (both halves), while JTWROS assets only get a half step-up. This can create significant tax advantages.

Trust ownership means assets are titled in the name of the trust. This is how you fund revocable living trusts. Many clients have trusts that were never funded, which defeats the purpose. You should be checking this.

Business entity ownership affects estate planning for business owners. S-corp or LLC ownership transfers differently than individual assets and may require buy-sell agreements and special trust provisions.

Wealth Transfer Strategies

Estate planning isn't just about death. It's about transferring wealth efficiently during life.

Annual gifting programs use the annual exclusion ($18,000 per recipient in 2025) to transfer wealth without using lifetime exemption. For families with estate tax concerns, systematic gifting to children and grandchildren reduces the estate while providing financial support.

529 education funding gifts allow front-loading five years of annual exclusion gifts ($90,000 per beneficiary in 2025) without gift tax. This moves money out of the estate, grows tax-free for education, and helps grandchildren.

Direct payment of medical or education expenses doesn't count against annual or lifetime exclusion as long as payments go directly to providers. Grandparents paying grandchildren's tuition directly is a powerful wealth transfer strategy.

Family limited partnerships can create valuation discounts while maintaining control. Parents transfer limited partnership interests to children at discounted values, retaining general partner control. This strategy requires careful execution and legitimate business purpose.

Private foundations vs donor-advised funds serve different charitable purposes. Private foundations offer control and legacy but require administration. Donor-advised funds are simpler and work fine for most clients. You're helping clients evaluate the tradeoff.

Intentionally defective grantor trusts are advanced strategies that freeze estate values while allowing assets to appreciate outside the estate. The grantor pays taxes on trust income, which further reduces the estate without counting as a gift. This requires sophisticated planning with attorneys.

Estate Planning for Blended Families

Second marriages with children from prior relationships create unique challenges.

Protecting children from previous marriages requires specific planning. Simple wills leaving everything to the current spouse don't ensure children ultimately receive inheritances. The current spouse could disinherit stepchildren.

QTIP trusts (Qualified Terminable Interest Property) solve this problem. They provide income to the surviving spouse for life, with remainder to the grantor's children. This protects both the spouse and ensures children eventually inherit.

Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements define what's separate vs marital property and can specify estate planning requirements. These agreements coordinate with the estate plan to ensure intentions are honored.

Life insurance as equalization tool works when one spouse has significantly more wealth or when protecting children from prior marriages. Insurance creates liquidity to provide for children without disinheriting the current spouse.

Ongoing Estate Plan Maintenance

Estate planning isn't one-and-done. It requires regular monitoring, and that's where you provide tremendous value.

Triggering events for updates include marriage, divorce, birth, death, significant wealth changes, relocation to another state, and changes in estate tax laws. When these happen, you're alerting clients and facilitating attorney consultation.

Periodic document review schedule should happen every 3-5 years minimum, even without triggering events. Laws change, circumstances evolve, and documents need updating.

Beneficiary review cadence should be annual. This takes 15 minutes during your regular review meeting and catches problems before they become disasters.

Asset and trust funding verification ensures the plan is actually implemented. Check that assets are properly titled, trusts are funded, and everything aligns with the plan. This is where most estate plans fail.

Coordinating with attorney and CPA creates the planning team. You're identifying issues, the attorney addresses legal aspects, the CPA handles tax compliance. Together, you ensure the client's interests are protected.

Why Estate Planning Coordination Matters

Estate planning coordination is how you protect clients and their families from devastating mistakes.

When you catch the client who hasn't updated their estate plan since their divorce and the ex-spouse is still the IRA beneficiary, you've saved the kids their inheritance. When you ensure the $5 million life insurance policy is in an ILIT and save $2 million in estate taxes, you've delivered enormous value.

This level of coordination is essential for comprehensive financial planning that truly serves client needs.

This isn't about becoming an attorney. It's about being the coordinator who ensures estate planning happens, gets implemented properly, and stays current. Attorneys don't do ongoing monitoring. CPAs don't review beneficiary designations. You do, as part of comprehensive wealth management.

Clients don't always appreciate estate planning until something goes wrong. But families who've watched estate disasters unfold understand the value of proactive coordination. Position yourself as the quarterback of the planning team, and you'll keep families protected and assets intact across generations.

Learn More

Estate planning coordination integrates with multiple aspects of wealth management. Explore these related topics: