Financial advisors are being called upon by their clients to deliver more holistic services that go beyond portfolio building and organizing retirement income — and that increasingly includes support with estate and legacy planning.
In fact, according to Tim White, chief partnership officer and co-founder of the digital estate planning platform Wealth.com, no financial plan is complete without an estate plan. Getting the right legal documents and financial instruments in place is essential, White says, from standard wills and power of attorney documents to more intricate trusts and estate planning vehicles.
That’s why his firm has launched a new advisory council dedicated to helping more financial professionals access the educational resources and planning solutions they need to deliver sophisticated legacy planning services to clients.
The members of the new council are Anna N’Jie-Konte, president and director of financial planning for Re-Envision Wealth; Dasarte Yarnway, founder of Yarnway Wealth Management; Erik Smith, chief investment officer at 401 Financial; Justin Castelli, founder of RLS Wealth; Samantha Russell, chief evangelist at FMG; and Thomas Kopelman, head of community at Wealth.com and Co-founder of AllStreet Wealth.
The power of the council lies in its composition, White said, being exclusively made up of professionals from the financial advisory sector who either use Wealth.com’s planning solutions with their clients or possess a deep familiarity with the domain and the nuances of engaging advisors.
White says the firm believes that estate planning achieves its greatest impact when seamlessly integrated into a comprehensive framework of financial and life planning, rather than being viewed as a standalone service.