Estate Plan Essentials
One constructive step advisers can take immediately is to encourage their clients to have a will, says Michael Roberts, president of Arden Trust Company. “Two years ago, BMO Harris Bank surveyed families with regard to estate plans,” Roberts says. “It revealed several disturbing statistics. Over half of the people did not have a will in place, no formal estate plan to start with.” According to Roberts, the most interesting statistic was that only 28% of parents had shared details of their estate plans with their children. This was later confirmed by another survey of high-net-worth individuals by U.S. Trust Wealth Management, which found only 64% had had any discussion at all with family members about their estate plans.
PLANADVISER, January 28, 2020
