In this series we are featuring financial advisors that have teamed up with Trust & Will to offer estate planning products and tools as an important value-add to clients.
Spotlighted in this case study is Samuel Deane of Deane Wealth Management. Keep reading to find out how Trust & Will’s premier estate planning platform has enabled them to be more proactive about their clients’ estate plans.
Deane Wealth Management: Who We Are & What We Do
Deane Wealth Management is an independent wealth management firm specializing in equity compensation and financial planning for tech founders and early employees.
Samuel Deane founded the firm in 2018 from the ground up with the mission to empower the startup community, using personal finance as a tool for fulfillment. The firm takes a team-based approach to wealth management and it has allowed them to provide a comprehensive service offering which includes estate planning, tax and accounting.
Before Trust & Will: Client Estate Planning Challenges
Prior to working with Trust & Will, estate planning was a pain point that was challenging to solve for Dean Wealth Management clients.
Most of the families the firm works with are at the height of liquidity events. This includes events like equity, taxes, cash flow. Even emotional wellbeing is bumped up to the top of the priority list — and rightfully so.
As Dean Wealth Management continued to build out the framework of client financial plans, estate planning generally fell to the bottom of the totem pole. While technology allowed the firm to advise clients across the country, it also presented a challenge when referring clients to state-specific estate planning attorneys.
The firm would educate families on the importance of estate planning, and refer them to local attorneys, but the majority of clients would procrastinate on actually creating their estate plans.
“These hurdles, coupled with the cost of estate plans, made working with Trust & Will a no-brainer,” said Deane.
Enter Trust & Will: The Estate Planning Solution that Resolves Client Pain Points
Samuel, President of Deane Wealth Management, was introduced to Trust & Will by other like-minded registered investment advisors (RIA) on Twitter through the FinTwit community.
Having recently married, Samuel and his wife welcomed their first child. After using Trust & Will to create his own family’s estate plan, Samuel decided to bring the solution in-house to improve the client experience and to better serve Deane Wealth Management’s clients.
The process starts by having a kick-off meeting to educate clients on the benefits of creating an estate plan and what it means for their legacy if they don’t have one. In this meeting, advisors generally review the core documents that make up an airtight estate plan and discuss the pros and cons of different strategies. Clients are guided through every step of creating that plan, referred to experts when applicable and assisted with action items such as getting documents notarized, funding their trust or revising beneficiaries. It is a collaborative process that helps both parties sleep well at night knowing that a client’s legacy is protected.
The Positive Impact of a Trust & Will Partnership
The impact of rolling out Trust & Will to our clients cannot be understated.
Not only is it more affordable, accessible, and scalable, but it is also the most convenient option for our clients.
Within the first 12 months of implementing Trust & Will, Deane Wealth Management completed estate plans for over 65% of existing clients and 100% of new clients. The firm has done more estate planning in that year than in previous years combined. To that point, we have built workflows and processes to ensure that estate planning never slips through the cracks.
“Leveraging Trust & Will as the firm’s estate planning partner translates to taking a comprehensive and holistic approach to financial planning and wealth management,” says Deane. “It enables us to adopt a family office infrastructure around the needs of our clients and be a true one stop shop for all things money.”
As Deane Wealth Management continues to grow and serve the startup community, it hopes to continue making an impact on client’s lives by encouraging them to prioritize estate planning.
Trust & Will is the leading estate planning platform in the US, helping hundreds of thousands of members nationwide prepare their estate plans. With $30B assets listed in plans and over 2,500 5-star reviews, Trust & Will helps over 9,000 Financial Advisors streamline estate planning to deliver a comprehensive solution to their clients.
Interested in partnering with Trust & Will to enhance your own clients’ estate planning needs? Learn more about our partnership program for financial advisors and schedule a free demo today.
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