Estate Planning in an Age of Instant Gratification

Living in today’s age of instant gratification makes work in the estate planning field especially challenging.  Many clients expect instantaneous responses to their questions, immediate solutions to their concerns and often have unrealistic expectations that the estate planning process will be smooth and the results will be seamless. 

So, what can be done?  First, recognizing the existence of this phenomenon is important in order to set realistic expectations for clients.  More importantly, estate planning practitioners need to set accurate expectations for themselves and forego taking on more work and responsibilities than possible. 

See Avi Z. Kestenbaum, Practicing in the Age of Instant Gratification, Wealth Management, Dec. 22, 2014.

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