With ever more frequency I am being asked by advisors what opportunities I am seeing in light of COVID.
What we are experiencing is that a lot of people are updating their estates. Unfortunately, what I am also seeing from the executed estate documents is that none are naming their financial advisor with any role in their testamentary trusts.
I find this interesting, and alarming.
As an “open architecture” trust company, we daily see and experience the value of the financial advisors continued involvement with the next generation. Not only is there a continuity of the wealth management, with which the family already has a comfort level, and perhaps most importantly is the financial advisors’ intimate and long-standing understanding of the family. Ultimately this best equips the trustee, and family, for generational success.
When given the opportunity, I explain to the client the importance of keeping the investment advisor involved. If the clients have a trusted relationship with an investment advisor, the client immediately gets it. If asked, my experience is most clients will want their investment advisor to continue to be involved. Yet this is completely opposite of what I am seeing come across our desk.
Being in this business for some time, I think I have a good understanding why most estate plans do not have their investment advisor named therein, yet, when asked, most clients would like their financial advisor to be involved with the next generation through their testamentary trust. I would like to test my theory and hear from everyone else.
We’d greatly appreciate your thoughts on these questions. You can respond in the comment section at the bottom of the page. We look forward to hearing from you!
1) Of those estate plans where a testamentary trust will be funded, what percent of the time do you think the client is asked whether they would like to keep their financial advisor involved with their family’s testamentary trust?
2) If asked, what percent of the time does the client respond affirmatively that they would like their trusted financial advisor to continue to be involved with their family’s testamentary trust?
3) Of those estate plans where a testamentary trust will be funded, what percent of the estate plans use “directed trust” language to secure the financial advisors’ involvement?
I bet we will be alarmed by the responses to questions 1 & 3.
