The Importance Of Beneficiary Relationships In Estate Planning

One difficult situation that a financial adviser might face is watching a client pass away and then seeing the beneficiaries of the estate undo years of financial planning.  This article discusses why it is important for advisers to establish relationships with their client’s beneficiaries.  Estate planning involves more than just the transfer of money or management of assets.  It involves personal connections with clients and beneficiaries.  In this column the author recounts his own experience with losing an account after a client passed away.  He discusses some of the changes he made to the way he does business after his experience with losing business.  Building relationships with beneficiaries is a good way to promote the long term success of an adviser. 

See Scott Huff, Rethinking Estate Planning as Building Beneficiary Relationships, Wealth Management, April 27, 2016.