Proven Conversation Starters that Make It Easy for You to Bring Up Estate Planning

We’ve crowdsourced these from advisors who have used them with repeated

success. Full credit to: Eric Negron (Forefront), advisors at Kingsview Partners,

Yohance Harrison (Money Script Wealth Management), Tushar Kumar (Twin

Peaks Wealth Advisors), Katie Noles (Advisors EP), Adam Sommers (Sommers

Financial Management), and Amy Irvine (Rooted Planning Group).

Bring Up with Clients or Prospects for the First or Umpteenth Time

Tell a joke (lighten the mood):
- Tell one or all of them:
  - “When there's a will, there's a relative.”
  - “What's the difference between in-laws and outlaws? Outlaws are actually wanted. This is why you need estate planning!”
Open with “Who’s your Power of Attorney?”:
- This will get your clients to start thinking about all the other important people in their lives (e.g., beneficiaries, successor trustees) and how they should be taken care of.
Ask if their beneficiaries and trustees are up-to-date:
- Similar to asking, “Who’s your POA?”, this will get your clients to start thinking about how else they might need to protect their beneficiaries.
Ask “When’s the last time you updated your estate plan?”
- Also ask when major life events happen (e.g., expecting a child, divorce, windfall like inheritance or IPO).
Make a bold claim: “I’ll get your plan done in 5 min. Wanna see how?”
- You then ask who they want as beneficiaries, POA + health care agents, and guardians.

We’ve crowdsourced these from advisors who have actually checked in with their

clients at these specific life events. This checklist of life events covers 95% of life

events that happen and are great opportunities for you to ask your clients

about their estate plans. Full credit to: Eric Negron (Forefront), Katie Noles

(Advisors EP), Yohance Harrison (Money Script Wealth Management), Tushar

Kumar (Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors), and Amy Irvine (Rooted Planning Group).

Beneficiary Designation review (happens every year come open enrollment).
Changes to family dynamics (e.g., falling out with parents).
Vacation / traveling (especially international travel).
Key family member becomes disabled.
Chronic health problems crop up in family (you, spouse, or children).
Marriage.
Divorce.
Dearly beloved passes away:
Spouse.
Beneficiary.
Expecting new children and or grandchildren.
Adopting a child.
Property is bought, sold, or inherited.
Finances change suddenly for better (windfall) or worse.
- Windfall examples: IPO event, inheritance, new job.
Business is started, sold, or bought.
Moved to another state or country.
Tax law changes (state and federal).
Retirement.
Changes to executors and trustees.
Philanthropic goals and planning.
Substance abuse in the family.
Lastly, use these if you really need to:
- Your clients’ kids didn’t come home for Christmas (jk of course!).
- Client despises their new child in-laws (see: in-laws vs outlaws joke).

Legacy Letter
- Handwritten letter to your loved ones (e.g., spouse, children) expressing your love and thoughts about them, and your hopes and dreams for them.
- Note: This is not a substitute for a will.
Power of Attorney
- Also referred to as “Financial Agent”. Basically, your client needs trusted folks to take over their finances and all financial decisions in the event they’re incapacitated or deceased.
Healthcare/HIPAA Directive
- Also referred to as “Healthcare Agent”. Similar to Power of Attorney.
Living Trust
- There are varying levels of estate plans: a funded revocable trust-based estate plan is generally regarded as the most comprehensive plan for your average family. It allows a significant amount of control, keeps your family out of probate, and is not overly burdensome during your lifetime.
Pour Over Will
- Goes hand-in-glove with a living trust.
Property Deed filed correctly
- One of the best ways to ensure a trust is funded.
- Note: Encore’s deed filing service takes care of all the deed filing pains (no need for you and or your client to go to assessor’s office to pull deeds, notarize them, etc.) while you and your clients enjoy all the gains of a correctly funded trust (and you being the hero in your clients’ eyes!). Email [email protected] to get started on deed filing.