Majority of clients change advisers once they receive inheritance

Advisers need to work harder to include their clients’ heirs in estate plans because 92% of heirs change advisers once they receive an inheritance, according to one industry leader. To protect themselves, it is critical that advisers prepare the entire family for the transition, Roy Williams, president of The Williams Group in Stockton, Calif., said today at the Rocky Hill, Conn.-based International Association of Advisors in Philanthropy’s annual conference in Rosemont, Ill. Fully 70% of wealth transfers aren’t successful, because heirs aren’t prepared for the inheritance or there is a breakdown of communication in the family. “Unless heirs are prepared, the problems are going to be significant,” Mr. Williams said. “Our clients asked us to help us solve this problem. They said to us, ‘I don’t want to destroy my children by giving those millions,’” he said. Advisers need to spend more time with their clients and the entire family to help prepare relatives for the inheritance, Mr. Williams said. He offers a 50-question transition quiz for all members of the family to take before the planning process begins.