100 Questions to Ask in an Estate Planning Interview

For estate planners, among the most important skills they must acquire and use pointedly and consistently is an ability to communicate effectively with clients. Getting to know clients, their fears and goals, is a fundamental cornerstone of the estate planning process. This essential need for successful communication parallels fields like psychology, social work, and psychiatry. But unlike those employed in these fields, estate planners are generally on their own when it comes to training and education specifically aimed at improving their ability to converse.

Planners lacking solid communication abilities tend to focus narrowly on fact-finding and gathering data. This concentrated focus can cause them to miss important non-verbal and verbal cues from clients. Overlooking these subtle social cues may cause a planner to miss critical information required to create a comprehensive and accurate estate plan that fits their client’s needs.

As a means of facilitating effective communication, provided are a number of open-ended questions that a planner can ask a client in order to lubricate conversation. These range from broad questions like, “What is your greatest fear?” to more detailed questions like, “Have you ever been involved in a contested estate or trust? If so, please provide some details, including how it started and how it concluded or the present status of the matter.” The questions are arranged by category for easy reference. It is not necessary to ask every question or even pull questions from every category.

See L. Paul Hood, Jr. & Stephan R. Leimberg, 100 Questions to Ask in an Estate Planning Interview, ThinkAdvisor, September 5, 2014.

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