Family Conflict Top Estate Planning Challenge

No family is perfect, and this fact is most clear when individuals are faced with the daunting task of designating potential beneficiaries and guardians. A recent TD Wealth survey at the 52nd Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning revealed that 44% of planning professionals believe that family conflict is the currently strongest threat to estate planning.

The loss of a loved one is never easy, but planning for it could make the emotional trauma more manageable. Ray Radigan, Head of Private Trust at TD Wealth, encourages clients to talk with estate planning professionals, tax advisors, and their family members as early as possible to decrease this challenge: “Losing loved ones can be difficult, and talking about what happens when a loved one is gone can be even tougher. We encourage families to start the dialogue early, and make sure they have the right people around the table from the beginning. That includes financial advisors, tax advisors, lawyers, accountants and family members.”

See David H. Lenock, Family Conflict Tops the List of Estate Planning Challenge in 2018, Wealth Management.com, March 28, 2018.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.) for bringing this article to my attention.