Vanilla

Dec 09, 2025

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The Importance of Estate Planning: 6 Ways to Start the Conversation

All of your clients need estate planning. Many of them don’t realize it yet.

Only a little over 50% of Baby Boomers have a trust, will, or an estate plan in place, a figure that decreases with each subsequent generation. Meanwhile, your ability to retain their families through generational wealth transfers hangs in the balance. Only 27% of heirs plan to keep their benefactor’s wealth advisor, dropping to 20% for those who have already received an inheritance.

Estate planning isn’t just critical for your clients. It’s critical for your practice.

As an advisor, you can influence your clients’ ability to leave a meaningful legacy while building strong relationships with their children and grandchildren by taking a strategic approach to the estate planning conversation:

1. Start with protection, not death

Nobody wants to talk about dying. Reframe the conversation around protection.

Estate planning protects the people your clients love most from unnecessary stress, confusion, and conflict. Without a plan, state intestate laws decide who gets what. Those laws rarely align with what your clients want.

And without proper documents, a court determines who becomes the guardian of minor children. That decision gets taken out of your clients’ hands entirely.

Help clients see that estate planning is an act of love and responsibility. A will or trust provides clarity during an already difficult time and prevents family disputes when emotions run high.

2. Address the probate problem

Probate confuses most people, so break it down clearly for your clients.

Probate is the legal process that oversees administration of an estate and distributes assets according to a will or the state’s laws if the individual dies without a will It can cost up to 10% of an estate and take months or even years to complete. During this time, assets can be frozen and families wait.

Estate planning tools like living trusts or payable-on-death accounts can help clients avoid or minimize probate entirely. Assets pass directly to heirs without court interference, and families get their inheritance faster, with less expense and zero public record.

When you explain probate in practical terms, including time, cost, and privacy, clients are more likely to understand the urgency.

3. Emphasize incapacity planning

Many clients think estate planning only applies to what happens after death, when it’s just as important for managing what happens before.  

Incapacity planning covers situations where your client can’t make decisions due to injury or illness but is still alive. Without a durable power of attorney for healthcare and finances, families must go to court to gain authority to make decisions, a process that adds stress and delays during a crisis.

A healthcare proxy allows someone your client trusts to make medical decisions on their behalf. A financial power of attorney empowers that person to pay bills, manage investments, and handle day-to-day finances.

Position these documents as essential protection, not optional extras. They ensure someone your client trusts makes critical decisions when they can’t.

4. Connect estate planning to tax efficiency

High-net-worth clients respond well to conversations about tax strategy. Introduce estate planning as a way to minimize taxes while maximizing what beneficiaries receive.

Certain tools like trusts, gift planning, and charitable donations reduce estate tax burdens. Without proper planning, families face hefty estate taxes that could significantly diminish the inheritance passed to heirs.

When you connect estate planning to smart tax planning, clients who may have initially resisted the conversation often engage when they see the potential tax savings and how much more their heirs will actually receive.

5. Avoid family conflict

Thirty-five percent of American adults have experienced or know someone who faced family conflict because of a lack of estate planning. These disputes can tear relationships apart during times of grief.

An estate plan eliminates ambiguity, so everyone knows who gets what, who makes healthcare decisions, and who manages finances. Clear documentation can prevent conflict and reduce emotional burden when your clients’ families need support most.

Position estate planning as giving your clients peace of mind. Knowing their wishes will be honored and their family will be cared for reduces anxiety on both sides.

6. Help clients define their legacy

Beyond asset distribution, estate planning inspires conversation about values, impact, and what clients want to leave behind.

Some clients want to pass down a business with specific instructions for succession. Others want to establish charitable giving that reflects their passions. An estate plan makes these wishes explicit and actionable.

For clients with unique assets, like intellectual property, art collections, or family heirlooms, estate planning ensures these items go to the right people with proper care instructions.

Legacy planning resonates emotionally, transforming estate planning from a legal chore into a meaningful conversation about what matters most.

Building a bridge to the next generation

The greatest threat to today’s advisors isn’t self-directed investing, but failing to build strong relationships with clients’ families. When asked why they switched advisors, 28% of heirs said they didn’t have a relationship with their benefactor’s advisor.

Estate planning gives you a natural entry point to connect with your clients’ heirs. Family meetings around estate plans let you demonstrate your value to the next generation before wealth transfers occur.

Capture the existing estate planning opportunity

Ninety-three percent of clients want estate planning advice from their financial advisors, but only 22% receive it, a gap that represents your opportunity to differentiate your practice and secure multi-generational client relationships.

Estate planning isn’t complicated when you have the right tools and support. Start the conversation today. Ask your clients when they last reviewed their estate documents. If they don’t have any, use these six reasons to explain why they should.

Your clients trust you with their financial future. Extending that trust to their legacy planning strengthens your relationship and positions you as a true wealth steward, not just an investment manager.

Ready to make estate planning your competitive advantage? Discover how Vanilla helps advisors scale sophisticated estate planning across their entire client base.

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.