In this article: Watch the Webinar Recording Why Clients Procrastinate on Estate Planning Use These...
Key Takeaways for How To Get Clients to Stop Procrastinating on Estate Plans
- By confronting our own procrastination as advisors, we become better equipped to guide our clients.
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Financial implications for clients = estate planning implications (no financial plan is complete without an estate plan!).
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Your clients just need to answer 5 questions to get their estate plans complete:Who will inherit your assets?
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Who will inherit your assets?
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How will they receive these assets?
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Who makes financial decisions if you can't?
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Who makes healthcare decisions if you're incapacitated?
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Who cares for your minor children?
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- Use humor strategically when bringing up and discussing estate planning with clients.
- Let clients know (and repeat often) that estate plans are easy and nothing to be afraid of.
In this article:
- Watch the Webinar Recording
- Takeaway #1: The Psychology of Estate Planning Procrastination
- Takeaway #2: Leveraging Life Events to Spur Action
- Takeaway #3: Simplifying Estate Planning Conversations
- Takeaway #4: The Strategic Use of Humor to Ease Difficult Conversations
- Takeaway #5: Taking Action - How Advisors Can Ensure Estate Plans Get Done
- Action Steps for Advisors to Get Started Today
Executive Summary
Estate planning often ranks high on the list of important tasks clients know they should complete. But, you have a higher chance of winning the lottery than having your clients finally complete their estate plans.
Understanding and addressing this widespread procrastination requires an approach that blends psychology, practical steps, and clear communication strategies.
To help advisors break through with their clients, EncorEstate Plans invited a Financial Behavioral Specialist (Derek Hagen at Money Quotient) and recovering estate attorney (Mike Bennett, Managing Director and Head of Estate Planning at EncorEstate Plans) to share their insights and provide practical advice and action steps to overcome estate planning procrastination effectively in this guide.
Watch the Webinar Recording
Takeaway #1: The Psychology of Estate Planning Procrastination
Understanding why clients procrastinate on estate planning involves examining their emotional and psychological barriers, including the inherent discomfort associated with discussing mortality and incapacity. Derek Hagen, who's the only known practicing CFA and Certified Financial Therapist, emphasizes the contagious nature of advisors' attitudes towards estate planning:
"Your mood, your doubt, your enthusiasm is contagious. If you are hesitant about thinking about these kinds of things, it's possible that subconsciously, you're portraying that to your clients."
Actionable Takeaways
- Normalize the Discussion: Frame estate planning conversations as a routine aspect of responsible financial management rather than an isolated, daunting event.
- Reflect Personal Confidence: Advisors should address their own estate planning needs proactively to authentically guide clients through the process.
- Be Mindful of Emotional Barriers: Recognize and validate the emotional weight of estate planning conversations, providing empathy and understanding to clients.
Clients often delay because estate planning feels overwhelming and emotionally heavy. By confronting our own procrastination as advisors, we become better equipped to guide our clients.
And to effectively address these barriers, advisors must lead with genuine positivity, curiosity, and understanding, actively engaging in supportive dialogues that demystify the process.
Download: Proven Estate Planning Conversation Starters from Advisors
Takeaway #2: Identifying and Leveraging Life Events to Spur Action
Life events often provide natural prompts for initiating or revisiting estate planning. Both expected and unexpected transitions offer tangible moments for advisors to smoothly bring estate planning into client conversations.
Actionable Takeaways
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Create a Checklist of Key Life Events: Develop a comprehensive list to use as reference points for client meetings. Or, download Encore's checklist for when to check clients' estate plans.
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Birth or adoption of a child.
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Marriage or divorce.
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Buying or selling a home.
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Retirement or significant job changes.
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Health changes in the family.
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Integrate Estate Planning into Regular Reviews: Consistently incorporate estate planning questions into annual or biannual financial reviews to catch life changes promptly.
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Educate Clients on Trigger Events: Proactively educate clients about specific life events (e.g., marriages, birth of a child, sudden change in finances) that commonly necessitate estate planning updates, ensuring they're primed for these conversations.
According to Derek:
“Life transitions come with financial implications, and included in that is estate planning implications.”
Keeping a pulse on clients' lives ensures estate plans remain current and relevant, reducing procrastination through timely interventions and check-ins (much like timely health check-ups!). You can download this checklist for when to check clients' estate plans:
Related: How to Increase Your Client Estate Plan Completion Rate
Takeaway #3: Simplifying Estate Planning Conversations
The perceived complexity of estate planning usually stops your clients from wanting to get their estate plans done, let alone think about them! Simplifying the process into manageable components helps clients approach decisions confidently.
Mike Bennett, a former practicing estate planning attorney, recommends breaking down the complexity of estate planning into clear, simple questions:
- Who will inherit your assets?
- How will they receive these assets?
- Who makes financial decisions if you can't?
- Who makes healthcare decisions if you're incapacitated?
- Who cares for your minor children?
Actionable Takeaways
- Focus on Core Decisions: Clearly outline the main decisions clients must make, such as beneficiaries, guardians for minors, and healthcare representatives.
- Use Simple, Direct Language: Avoid jargon and legalese; instead, opt for relatable, everyday language that clients easily understand.
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Visual Aids and Summaries: Employ visual summaries or diagrams illustrating estate plan structures to provide clarity and enhance understanding.
“I try to boil estate planning down to one word, and that word is 'control.'”
- Mike Bennett, Head of Estate Planning at EncorEstate Plans
When clients clearly understand the process and the decisions involved, they become more empowered and less likely to delay.
Related: How to Start Your Estate Planning Practice as a Financial Advisor
Takeaway #4: The Strategic Use of Humor to Ease Difficult Conversations
Appropriately employed humor can significantly reduce anxiety around estate planning discussions. However, advisors must be mindful of context and individual client sensitivities when using humor.
Actionable Takeaways
- Assess Client Comfort Levels: Gauge each client's openness to humor based on their initial responses and body language.
- Relatable Anecdotes: Share relatable, mildly humorous personal anecdotes that illustrate the importance and impact of estate planning.
- Lighthearted Approach to Sensitive Topics: Approach particularly difficult topics, such as healthcare directives, with gentle humor to diffuse tension and encourage openness.
“I don't have my mother listed because I'm a pull-the-plug type guy, and I know she'd never do it.”
- Mike Bennett, Head of Estate Planning at EncorEstate Plans
Used strategically, humor facilitates rapport-building and makes challenging conversations more approachable.
Takeaway #5: Taking Action - How Advisors Can Ensure Estate Plans Get Done
Facilitating client action requires advisors to clearly demonstrate ease, benefits, and urgency around estate planning. Effective advisors proactively remove barriers to action and inspire clients through motivation and clarity:
Actionable Takeaways
- Demonstrate Simplicity and Speed: Clearly communicate how quickly and easily updates to estate plans can be completed.
- Provide Concrete Examples: Use specific examples or case studies of clients who successfully navigated estate planning efficiently.
- Tie Recommendations to Values: Align each piece of estate planning advice directly to a client's deeply held values to reinforce urgency and personal relevance.
“Think about how motivating it is when changes can be made in 90 seconds. If that's possible, what else is possible?”
- Derek Hagen
By regularly highlighting these points, advisors ensure clients perceive estate planning as a manageable and immediate priority.
Action Steps for Advisors to Get Started Today
Summarizing essential strategies, advisors should:
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Engage clients through empathetic, clear, and structured communication.
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Proactively use life events as natural prompts for estate planning updates.
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Simplify and demystify the estate planning process through straightforward dialogue and visual tools.
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Apply humor judiciously to ease tension and facilitate openness.
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Consistently emphasize ease and rapid implementation to encourage prompt client action.
Addressing estate planning procrastination effectively blends emotional intelligence, clarity, practicality, and proactive communication. Advisors equipped with these strategies empower clients to confidently navigate estate planning, securing their legacy and peace of mind.
You can learn more about Money Quotient and get a deep-dive demo of the Encore platform:
