Vanilla

Dec 01, 2025

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The Guide to Legacy Planning for Financial Advisors

Over the next two decades, $124 trillion will transfer from baby boomers to younger generations. Your clients are part of this colossal shift, and they want help navigating it. Research confirms this: 93% of clients want estate planning advice from their advisor.

Beyond the legal structures of estate planning, legacy planning is increasingly a key component of a comprehensive financial plan. Where estate planning focuses on wills, trusts, and tax strategies, legacy planning adds another dimension, addressing personal values, family dynamics, charitable intentions, and the stories your clients want to pass down. 

Legacy planning: Estate planning plus intent

Your clients still need the legal framework estate planning provides, including properly structured trusts, updated beneficiary designations, and compliant documentation. 

But legacy planning asks deeper questions: 

• What values do you want your wealth to reinforce? 
• How do you prepare your children to receive an inheritance responsibly? 
• What impact do you want to make on your community?

Clients consistently look for advisors who understand their entire financial picture. They want someone who can coordinate the legal requirements while also helping them articulate what their wealth should accomplish across generations.

Legacy planning as a differentiator

For financial advisors, legacy planning creates competitive separation in a crowded market where investment returns have become commoditized, positioning you as a wealth steward, not just a portfolio manager.

Retention benefits are substantial; advisors who facilitate legacy conversations build trust that extends across generations. When you help a client articulate their values and prepare their children and grandchildren, you become part of that family’s story, critical for retaining assets through generational wealth transfers when 80% of heirs typically leave their parents’ advisor.

Core components of a legacy plan

Understanding what belongs in a comprehensive legacy plan helps you guide clients effectively:

• Wills and trusts form the legal foundation. They dictate asset transfer and minimize probate complications. Your role is to coordinate with estate professionals to confirm clients’ documents are current.
• Beneficiary designations often override wills. Review these annually on retirement accounts, annuities, insurance policies, and payable-on-death (POD) and transfer-on-death (TOD) accounts. Mismatched beneficiaries can create expensive problems for families.
• Healthcare directives and powers of attorney preserve your client’s intentions during incapacity. These documents align with broader legacy goals by ensuring someone they trust can make decisions when they cannot.
• Charitable giving strategies let clients create philanthropic legacies. Donor-advised funds, charitable trusts, and planned bequests can fulfill values-based goals while providing tax advantages. Learn how to maximize charitable impact and tax benefits before the new rules go into effect in 2026.
• Financial education prepares the next generation emotionally and financially. Facilitate family meetings where clients can discuss values and responsibilities. Good communication now helps prevent disputes later.
• Ethical wills differ from legal documents. They’re personal letters or recordings that allow clients to share stories, explain decisions, and pass down wisdom, adding emotional depth to the technical plan.
• Business succession planning protects entrepreneurial clients. Without a clear transition plan, family businesses often fail during ownership changes. Coordinate with legal and tax experts to create smooth succession strategies.

Practical strategies for effective legacy planning

Don’t wait for clients to ask about legacy planning. Start the conversations during onboarding or annual reviews with simple phrasing: “As part of our comprehensive planning, I’d like to understand your long-term vision for your family and the impact you want your wealth to have.”

Ask values-based questions that go beyond numbers. “What matters most to you about how your wealth supports your family?” or “What kind of impact do you want to make on your community?” These open-ended prompts reveal goals that pure financial analysis misses.

Use questionnaires to standardize your discovery process. Digital tools help you capture information systematically, spot gaps, and structure follow-up conversations. 

Facilitate family meetings where appropriate. As a neutral advisor, you can guide intergenerational conversations that help clients communicate wishes clearly. These meetings reduce future conflict and prepare heirs for their responsibilities.

Build legacy check-ins into your service model. Review plans annually or when life changes occur: marriages, births, divorces, health events, significant asset changes. A legacy plan should evolve as life evolves.

Finally, collaborate with estate planning attorneys. Build a referral network and stay involved throughout the legal process to ensure client goals translate into proper documentation.

Developing a repeatable legacy planning process

Effective legacy planning follows clear steps: 

• Start with discovery. Have deep conversations about values, family structure, fears, and long-term wishes. This foundation informs everything that follows.
• Review existing estate documents. Gather wills, trusts, insurance policies, and account statements. Look for inconsistencies, outdated provisions, or missing elements.
• Develop the plan by matching client goals with appropriate tools: trusts, charitable vehicles, gifting strategies. Model potential outcomes and document recommendations.
• Implement the plan. Coordinate with attorneys and accountants for a team-based approach that builds client confidence and ensures accuracy.
• Help clients communicate the plan to heirs when appropriate. Transparency prevents surprises and conflict down the road.
• Monitor and update regularly. Life changes require plan adjustments. Build this into your ongoing client service.

Technology that enables legacy planning at scale

Modern tools make legacy planning manageable across your entire client base. Look for platforms with: 

• Secure client collaboration portals where clients can complete questionnaires and upload documents asynchronously.
• Centralized document management that keeps critical files organized and accessible with proper security and permissions.
• Visualization tools to help clients understand complex plans. Estate flowcharts and family trees increase engagement and comprehension.
• Compliance features with audit trails and version history, which protect your practice while simplifying documentation requirements.

Platforms like Vanilla integrate these capabilities specifically for advisors delivering estate and legacy planning services. With secure questionnaires, compliance-ready reporting, beautiful visualizations, and expert support, you can scale sophisticated planning without expanding your specialist team.

Build long-term relationships beyond portfolio management

Legacy planning shows clients you understand what truly matters: preparing their families for the future, preserving their values, and creating meaningful impact.

Advisors who lead with legacy planning strengthen multi-generational relationships and differentiate themselves in competitive markets. Start by reviewing your client list. Identify who lacks a current legacy plan. Begin conversations that align financial goals with legacy intent. Modern platforms simplify this process by bringing together collaboration, communication, and compliance in one place.

Want to elevate your estate planning services? Explore Vanilla’s estate planning software and discover how it can modernize your legacy planning approach.

The information provided here does not constitute legal, financial, or tax advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. This information may not be updated or reflect changes in law. Please consult with an estate attorney, financial advisor, or tax professional who can advise as to your particular situation.