Andre Pennington, Inc. 5000 CEO, Registered Financial Planner®, Wealth Attorney, Universal Wealth.
Estate planning and financial planning are often treated as separate disciplines: one dealing with wealth during life and the other focusing on wealth after death. But they’re actually two sides of the same coin, just at different points in time. This artificial separation often leaves clients vulnerable to gaps in their overall financial strategy.
As a registered financial planner who started as an estate planning attorney, here’s why I recommend that other estate planning attorneys consider following the same path—and how they can do it without getting overwhelmed.
The Three-Legged Stool
Think of comprehensive client care as a stool with three legs: estate planning, financial planning and tax strategy. Remove any one of these and the whole thing falls over. Yet many estate planning attorneys only focus on wealth transfer and tax implications, and this approach can miss crucial opportunities to help clients build and protect their wealth over their entire lifetime.
Estate planners already hold a unique position of trust and have a comprehensive understanding of their clients’ financial situations. By expanding into financial services, they can offer solutions that encompass wealth accumulation, risk management, tax optimization and legacy planning, all under one roof. This integrated approach helps ensure that a client’s current financial needs align seamlessly with their future goals and legacy wishes.
Making The Transition
Many attorneys hesitate to expand into financial planning because they assume it requires years of additional education. In reality, it’s probably easier than you think. After all, estate planning attorneys have already survived law school and passed the bar exam. In comparison, financial certifications are relatively straightforward. Attorneys are often shocked by how simply getting an insurance license—a straightforward multiple-choice test—makes it possible to help clients in ways they hadn’t considered. For example, understanding fixed-indexed annuities means you can advise elderly clients on how to avoid market losses, with market-level growth while receiving lifetime income, and in some cases securing long-term care solutions at the same time through an IRA or 401k rollover.
While some attorneys stop there, consider pursuing the Series 65 license, which qualifies you to work as an investment advisor representative and provide investment advice for a fee instead of working on commission. As you advance, focus on mastering the essential building blocks such as life insurance mechanics, annuity structures and the crucial distinction between qualified and non-qualified funds.
The key is to understand how these financial tools can integrate with existing estate planning strategies to create better solutions for your clients. It’s also a good idea to seek out a mentor with experience in both the legal and financial worlds.
Ethics And Time
Unlike traditional legal services, financial planning often involves ongoing management fees or commissions, and many advisors focus primarily on assets under management (AUM). That’s why it’s critical to communicate clearly with clients about potential income from financial services, including having them sign waivers that they clearly understand this.
Then there’s the question of time management. It can be tricky to balance an existing workload while developing a new skill set. But when done correctly, adding financial planning services can actually streamline your estate planning practice. Instead of juggling more work, you can have a greater impact on fewer clients while likely increasing your income at the same time.
Financial clients need advisors who can see the big picture. Estate planners are uniquely positioned to fill this role; they just need to take the first step. By understanding both the legal and financial aspects of wealth management, they can protect their clients more effectively while building a more sustainable and profitable practice for themselves.
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