Unlike Robotaxis, Estate Planning Shouldn’t Be on Autopilot 

People often spend decades preparing for retirement, and there’s a natural tendency to look at the end of one’s career as the finish line for financial planning. In reality, the first few years of retirement present a critical planning window, especially for clients who have a sizable estate. It’s a time when skilled financial advisors can shine, but only if they’ve put in the hard yards of building trust across generations of their clients’ families.

“One of the biggest misconceptions around estate planning is that having a will or trust drafted years ago means the work is finished,” said Sean Houghton, director of personal trust services at New Hampshire Shores Trust. “Most people will have experienced changes in family dynamics, changes in wealth, a move to another state or evolving wishes for beneficiaries. These are all reasons to revisit the plan.”

Building Trust(s)

The estate plan isn’t just a set of documents, Houghton said. Instead, it’s an ongoing process that has to keep pace with changes in the law, a family’s wealth, relationships, tax circumstances and more. So, while clients planning their estates during their 40s and 50s is a positive thing, that early effort also brings risks if the plan is allowed to go stale. 

“A good review starts by reconfirming the estate plan still reflects the client’s wishes,” Houghton said. “Then you get more granular and review wills, revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, powers of attorney and beneficiary designations.”

Other steps include: 

• Making sure assets are actually titled the way the plan requires, as even a beautifully drafted trust will accomplish little if it was never properly funded. 
• Periodically reconciling trust documents with account registrations, real estate holdings and other major assets.
• Determining which assets will fund retirement spending, taxes, charitable gifts and potential estate expenses and whether selling or distributing assets could undermine the intended trust structure. 

It’s also critical to frequently revisit trustee and successor-trustee designations. Clients should ask directly whether the people originally named are still appropriate, willing and capable. If not, professional trust administration is worth considering, especially if familial conflict is a factor. 

Estate Plans: Next Generation. The final key has less to do with dollars and cents and more with trust and human connection, Houghton said. “You’re going to be a lot more successful at helping the next generation inherit wealth if you’ve taken time to build a genuine relationship with them,” he said. “It’s going to be very difficult to establish credibility if you’re just coming in at a moment of crisis only focused on technical things. If that’s your approach, the next generation is going to move on pretty quickly.”