Where there’s no will, there is a way

CHICAGO — Financial advisers are crafting new strategies to convince clients to complete their wills and estate plans.
Clients often put off writing wills, and though advisers don’t actually draft the documents, they have begun to take a more hands-on approach to convince clients to complete these important documents, some advisers say.
According to a telephone survey of 1,018 adults conducted in March and released in April by Harris Interactive Inc. of Rochester, N.Y., 55% of Americans who were 18 or older said they didn’t have a will.
Frustration over procrastination
Advisers say they have been frustrated for some time by clients who procrastinate and don’t get their wills completed — mostly because estate planning depresses them.
“One of the discussions I have with other advisers is, when do you just put the client on your back and try to carry them over the finish line?” said Bobbie D. Munroe, a financial adviser with Fraser Financial in Atlanta. “Sometimes, you can’t do that; I can’t just do the will.”
Instead, Ms. Munroe said, she talks in depth with her clients about the importance of a will. If she has discussed the issue with clients a number of times, and they still refuse to meet with an attorney, she sends them a letter to sign indicating they have chosen not to follow her advice.
Often, receiving the letter prompts clients finally to meet with an attorney to draft their will, Ms. Munroe said.
“The very act of slipping that paper to them has gotten stragglers that actually did it,” she said.
“It actually helped,” Ms. Munroe said. “I will remind them twice, and then the paper comes out.”
One financial advisory firm takes a proactive stance on estate-planning cases and has created the “estate relationship manager” process to bridge the gap between clients and attorneys.
The goal of this process is not to take away from the importance of the attorney but to begin crafting specific goals for the estate, said Timothy J. Maurer, director of financial planning for The Financial Consulate Inc. of Lutherville, Md.
The firm’s advisers charge a flat $2,000 fee and often meet with clients four to six times to draft recommendations of estate documents for the attorney.
“There was a need for someone in the middle to spend time to discuss the different sides of estate planning and explain some of the options that are on the table,” Mr. Maurer said.
“Why don’t most people have a will?” he asked. “They don’t like talking about the issue of death and disability.”
Working with an adviser often is more comfortable for clients than meeting with an attorney, said Drew Tignanelli, principal at The Financial Consulate.
“We have a long-term relationship with a lot of our clients,” he said. “We already know their whole financial picture.”
But Mr. Tignanelli pointed out that not all attorneys like his firm’s detailed involvement with their clients.
However, attorney Wynne Whitman loves it when advisers take an active role in working with their clients to sort out aspects of estate planning.
“I think it’s great when I have a financial adviser involved,” said Ms. Whitman, of Schenck Price Smith & King in Morristown, N.J.
“They help folks understand some of the issues before they get to us,” she said. “It helps save tons of money to help them be prepared.”
Advisers can help explain the tax benefits to their clients about why having a will is so important, Ms. Whitman said.
“The investment adviser has a tremendous amount of opportunity to tell you that you can save a lot of money, and you can save a lot of heartache,” she said.
Ms. Whitman recently co-authored a book titled “Wants, Wishes and Wills: A Medical and Legal Guide to Protecting Yourself and Your Family in Sickness and in Health” (Pearson Education Inc., 2007).