Motivating Clients Of All Ages And Life Stages To Stop Delaying Estate Planning

Author: David Haughton, JD, CPWA®

Guest Contributor

David Haughton, JD, CPWA® is Senior Corporate Counsel at Wealth.com, the industry’s leading end-to-end estate planning platform designed for advisors and their clients. Before joining Wealth.com, David acted as Team Lead, Advanced Planning at Commonwealth Financial Network®, Member FINRA/SIPC. He is a graduate of UMass Amherst and earned his JD at the Massachusetts School of Law. He is admitted to the Massachusetts and New Hampshire bar, as well as the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, and the U.S. District Court, Court of New Hampshire. He is also a Certified Private Wealth Advisor® practitioner.

Read more of David’s articles here.

It's often cited that fewer than one-third of Americans have an estate plan, but that's not exactly true. Every person has an estate plan. The real question is about whether it was created intentionally to reflect the individual's particular circumstances or if it simply exists according to the default rules written into state law. For many individuals, the latter is unfortunately the case. And while the data may suggest apathy, the reality is that many individuals simply haven't yet been prompted – or empowered – to take action. That's where financial advisors can play a critical role.

Despite the universal need for estate planning, few individuals take meaningful steps to create an estate plan until they're forced into it, which is often after a major life event or health scare. Procrastination is often viewed as a major factor for delaying estate planning." For many, the idea of "getting around to it later" is often driven by the belief that estate planning simply isn't important until they've accumulated more wealth, retire, or achieve some arbitrary milestone (e.g., reach a certain age). Others believe that estate planning is only relevant to those who may have a Federal estate tax obligation, or that a basic will and a few beneficiary designations are sufficient.  But these assumptions can leave serious gaps.

The reality is that individuals at any life stage face risks when they don't have an estate plan in place. What "estate planning" means can vary widely depending on an individual's age, family circumstances, and net worth.. For young adults just off their parents' health insurance, it might mean establishing a healthcare proxy and financial power of attorney. For mid-career parents, the focus may be on guardianship designations and trust structures. And for affluent retirees with outdated documents, planning needs can be more sophisticated.

For advisors, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. While most clients may almost universally acknowledge the importance of estate planning, moving them from agreement to follow-through may require more than a checklist. Advisors who combine an intentional combination of clear messaging, emotional insight, and practical support tools are more likely to create collaborative partnerships that help clients overcome inertia and take meaningful action.

Importantly, helping clients complete their estate plans not only carries societal benefits, it can also strengthen the advisor-client relationship. And by expanding the scope of services and fostering deeper ties with a client's family, advisors can build relationships that endure across generations.

Everyone Needs Estate Planning

Regardless of age, wealth, or life stage, almost everyone procrastinates when it comes to their estate planning. From college students to retirees, estate planning often gets filed under "I'll get around to it later", even though the risks of not planning can be significant at any point in life.

Of course, the reasons will vary: Young adults may feel invincible. Mid-career professionals may assume things will default to their spouse and children. Older individuals may believe a dusty binder from 20 years ago still reflects their current wishes. But the result is the same: a lack of preparedness that can have serious consequences and distress for loved ones.

Young Adults (18–20s): "I'm Too Young To Need An Estate Plan"

Young adults rarely worry about incapacity or death – understandably so. With few financial responsibilities, no spouse or children, and a general sense of invincibility, estate planning can feel irrelevant. Psychologists even have a name for this mindset: the "personal fable" – a belief in one's own immortality and immunity from risk.

Why They Still Need A Plan

Incapacity Planning Is No Longer Covered By Mom And Dad – Parents Can't Step In Automatically

Critically, once a child reaches their applicable state's age of majority (typically age 18), parents lose the automatic legal authority to make decisions on their behalf, even if the child remains on their health insurance or is still being claimed as a dependent on their tax return. This could mean that if a college-aged student has an accident resulting in hospitalization and an inability to communicate, parents may find themselves unable to make decisions on the child's behalf – or even to view medical information due to privacy laws under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Without key estate plan documents, such as a Health Care Proxy, Durable Power of Attorney for finances, and HIPAA Authorization, no one (not even parents) may be able to quickly step in to manage the child's financial or medical affairs without a court order. For students studying abroad, young professionals living out of state, or anyone navigating a health crisis, this legal black hole can create unnecessary delays and distress.

Digital Assets Are More Than Crypto

While young adults may not yet have accumulated substantial wealth (on their own), they often have an extensive digital presence. This can include everything from social media accounts, monetized content (e.g., YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Etsy), or even crypto wallets and self-directed investment accounts.

Without proper documentation, loved ones may be unable to access, manage, or close these accounts in the event of incapacity or death. Including digital asset provisions in estate plans ensures someone trusted has the authority to manage both sentimental and financial digital property.

Mid-Career Adults (30s–50s): "My Spouse And Kids Will Just Get Everything Anyway"

As a person move into their 30s, 40s, and 50s, estate planning starts to feel more relevant, but perhaps still not actually urgent. Many assume that if they die, everything will just naturally go to their spouse or children. While that might be a logical assumption, individuals should realize that intestacy laws (which apply when someone dies without a valid will) don't always align with those assumptions – and these laws can vary widely by state.

Why They Still Need A Plan

Intestacy Laws Are Often Misunderstood

If a person dies without a valid will (i.e., dying intestate), their assets pass according to state law. These laws vary widely and may not align with what individuals assume will happen, which can lead to outcomes that feel unfair or surprising.

For example, under Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 190B, if a decedent who was married and has children from a prior relationship – or even just surviving parents – the spouse doesn't automatically inherit the full estate. If the decedent leaves behind a spouse and parents (but no descendants), the spouse receives only the first $200,000 plus three-fourths of the remainder. The surviving parents inherit the rest – a scenario that might alarm families who assumed the spouse would be the sole beneficiary.

Conversely, many states guarantee that a surviving spouse receives at least a minimum share of the estate, even if the decedent attempted to disinherit them. This is often through what's known as a "spousal elective share",  which can differ drastically across states. In Kansas, for instance, the surviving spouse's share increases with the length of the marriage. However, in South Carolina, the surviving spouse is entitled to one-third of the estate, seemingly regardless of the length of the marriage.

These variations underscore a critical takeaway: default rules across states are not consistent, and they rarely reflect what most people assume. Relying on state statutes can result in outcomes that conflict with an individual's intentions or spark legal challenges – especially in blended families. The best way for advisors to help their clients avoid such surprises is to proactively create or update an estate plan to reflect the client's unique priorities, family structure, goals, and state-specific rules.

Blended Families Can Complicate The Picture

For individuals in second marriages or with children from prior relationships, estate planning can become especially critical. The family (and emotional) dynamics are often more complex, making the stakes potentially higher. Without clear, legally binding documentation that reflects the person's wishes, individuals risk unintentionally disinheriting a loved one or creating disputes that can lead to costly litigation and familial rifts.

For example, in families with children from prior relationships, the default rules can feel especially misaligned, dividing assets in ways that feel unjust or arbitrary. Without clear documentation, disputes and legal challenges may arise, especially if someone is unintentionally excluded or receives less than expected. These scenarios make it essential for individuals to be aware of how their state's laws apply to their personal situation, and to ensure their own preferences are clearly documented and legally enforceable.

Guardianship For Minor Children

For parents of minor children, naming a guardian is one of the most critical elements of estate planning. Unless parents properly designate a legal guardian for their children, the decision to choose who will have custody of the children could fall to a judge, which could lead to family conflict or the appointment of someone the parents wouldn't have chosen. Including guardianship instructions in the estate plan ensures that children will be cared for by someone the parents trust.

Avoiding Probate Delays

Even when an estate is relatively simple, probate can delay access to assets, sometimes stretching for months or even years. The burden of court notices, hearings, and administrative holdups can compound the emotional strain for grieving family members. In some cases, operational challenges and inefficiencies of the probate office itself can lead to additional delays.

Think of probate like being stuck behind a school bus. You know where you're going and could get there quickly on your own, but constant stops – court notices, hearings, administrative paperwork – slow your progress. By contrast, a fully funded revocable trust is like taking a private road with no bus stops. It offers a faster, more direct, and largely free route to distributing assets, helping reduce stress, delays,  and surprises for loved ones.

Retirees And High-Net-Worth Individuals (50s+): "I Already Have An Estate Plan…"

Among retirees and high-net-worth clients, advisors may witness a shift in client mindset that focuses not on whether they should have a plan, but on whether their current plan still fits their needs and circumstances. Many in this group may already have some estate planning documents in place, but they may have been created decades ago when their children were minors or when the Federal estate tax exemption threshold was much lower than today's. Accordingly, estate planning is not a "set it and forget it" task – it needs to evolve as laws, assets, and family dynamics change.

Why They Still Need To Revisit Their Plan

Outdated Tax Planning Can Backfire

Many older estate plans were drafted when the Federal estate tax exemption was substantially lower – $1 million in 2002, for example, compared to $13.99 million per person as of 2025. As a result, some plans may include rigid, formula-based spousal estate tax planning structures that are now outdated and could trigger adverse income tax results or create unnecessary administrative complexity.

One common issue involves the use of credit shelter trusts, which were once standard for minimizing estate tax exposure. However, these trusts can now backfire: Assets placed in a credit shelter trust at the first spouse's death are excluded from the surviving spouse's estate, meaning they won't receive a second step-up in basis at the second death. If the assets appreciate in the meantime, beneficiaries may be stuck with realizing significant capital gains taxes, with no offsetting estate tax benefit.

Example: Dwight and Angela are a married couple with a beet farm and a $4 million brokerage account consisting of investments anticipated to appreciate steadily (if not rapidly).

Dwightdies in 2025, and his estate plan, drafted in 2003, automatically funds a credit shelter trust up to the full Federal exemption amount (currently $13.99 million).

Since Dwights's estate is under the current Federal exemption threshold amount, the entire portfolio is transferred into the credit shelter trust. Angela, the surviving spouse, retains access to income and principal, but the assets no longer receive a step-up in basis at her death.

The children inherit appreciated assets and face capital gains taxes that could have been avoided with a more flexible structure.

Missing Provisions For Digital Assets

Many older plans don't include provisions that address how to deal with digital accounts, cryptocurrency, or online business interests, simply because such assets weren't very common and the implications of ownership hadn't yet been fully contemplated. However, today, these gaps can create confusion or inaccessibility for heirs. As society, technology, and legislative agendas evolve, so do the relevant provisions in the estate plan documents.

Gifting Strategies Can Help Minimize Future Tax Exposure
 While many taxpayers may fall below the current estate tax threshold, the scheduled 2026 sunset of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act could dramatically reduce the Federal exemption to an estimated $7 million per person. That shift could expose more estates to Federal estate taxes, making lifetime gifting strategies especially valuable now.

Individuals may benefit from tools like Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs), Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs), or Qualified Personal Residence Trusts (QPRTs). These irrevocable structures can shift appreciating assets out of the taxable estate before exemption limits are potentially reduced.

Even simpler tactics – like annual exclusion gifts or direct payments for medical and educational expenses – can meaningfully reduce an estate when implemented consistently.

Business Succession Planning Is Essential

For individuals who built their wealth through a business, succession planning can be an essential component of an estate plan. Without it, a business can fall into disarray – or even dissolve – after the founder's death. Succession planning can involve clearly defining the intended future ownership structure, creating buy-sell agreements, establishing valuation methods, and securing estate liquidity. These elements help preserve business continuity, align with the business owner's goals, and reduce the burden on surviving family members.

Asset Protection Requires Proactive Action

As an individual's net worth increases, so does potential risk. Whether from personal liability, business disputes, or the escalating cost of long-term care, retirees are often exposed to financial threats that can erode a lifetime of savings. Irrevocable trusts, sophisticated business entity structuring, and long-term care insurance can help shield wealth from erosion, but only when implemented proactively, before any claims arise.  Timing matters; once a threat materializes, options for protection can be limited.

Effectively Communicating Estate Planning

Even when individuals understand the importance of estate planning, taking the first step can still feel emotionally taxing and overwhelming. Financial advisors often find themselves navigating a delicate balance between explaining the technical risks of doing nothing and not emotionally overwhelming their clients to the point that they avoid implementing their plan altogether.

That's where effective communication becomes essential. By tying estate planning to relatable life events, addressing emotional motivation with care, and outlining actionable next steps in a clear, manageable way, advisors can help clients move from procrastination to action.

Use Life Events As A Natural Entry Point

Marriage, divorce, welcoming a child, buying a new home, starting or selling a business, and even preparing for international travel: these all present natural opportunities to revisit (or introduce) the topic of estate planning. These life events give advisors a logical and emotionally relevant way to introduce estate planning into the conversation.

For example, when a parent sets up a 529 plan for a new child, they're likely already thinking long-term. This represents a natural moment to ask whether they've set up guardianship provisions in their last will and testament. Similarly, a recent divorcée updating her beneficiaries may be unaware that her ex-spouse is still named in a health care proxy or durable power of attorney.

Even celebrity missteps can serve as teachable moments. The recent news of Gene Hackman's death and his potentially stale estate plan is a "top of the headlines" place to reference. James Gandolfini's estate may have squandered millions in estate taxes (a personal favorite for me as a diehard Sopranos fan!), and the controversy over Jay Leno's conservatorship filing on behalf of his wife highlights the wide-ranging real-world legal consequences of potentially inadequate estate planning (even for the famous and ultra-high-net-worth). While sad, these public examples make abstract legal risks more tangible and easier for individuals to grasp.

Tap Into Emotional And Financial Motivations

Many individuals resist engaging in the estate planning process because they associate it with death. But reframing the conversation around protecting loved ones, preserving family harmony, and avoiding unnecessary costs can help shift the narrative into something more palatable and motivating. Additionally, while it may seem more prudent to completely avoid emotional topics like death anxiety, advisors who address these issues openly may play a crucial role in helping the client move forward. Recognizing these emotions and developing strategies to help clients work through them constructively can make the experience feel more meaningful. It can even be positively therapeutic for the client while strengthening the professional relationship.

Provide Simple On-Ramps

Even motivated clients can quickly become overwhelmed by the ‘paralysis of analysis' when they grasp the potential complexity of estate planning. To keep the momentum going, advisors can offer simple, accessible educational tools to break the process into manageable steps:

• Estate Planning Checklist to help clients stay focused on the core components of their plan.
• Periodic webinars or client workshops that cover estate planning essentials.
• Easy-to-digest client deliverables (such as articles and case studies) that explain key concepts in plain language.

Turning Intention Into Implementation

Even with the right messaging, many clients still delay the estate planning process. This is not necessarily because they don't see the value of planning, but more often because they don't really know where to begin. Legal jargon, the perceived permanence of elections related to estate planning, and the emotional weight of the topic can contribute to the aforementioned ‘paralysis of analysis'. Advisors play a critical role in breaking through that paralysis and helping the client take meaningful steps toward action.

Start With The Foundation

For many clients, estate planning might seem like a major life event to undertake, filled with barriers to entry that lead to procrastination. However, advisors can reframe it as an evolving process that happens over the course of a lifetime and not something that needs to be perfect from the start.

A helpful mindset for clients to consider is that "some plan is better than the government's plan". Rather than aiming for the ‘ideal' plan in one fell swoop, clients can begin by putting the basics in place. The following are documents that every person needs:

• Last will and testament. Handles asset distribution (for probate assets) and names guardians for minor children.
• Revocable living trust. Helps avoid probate and enables streamlined asset management in the case of incapacity.
• Powers of attorney. Authorizes a trusted person (e.g., an elected loved one or fiduciary) to make essential financial and healthcare decisions if the client becomes incapacitated.

Starting with these basics can prevent the process from being too overwhelming, while ensuring the client has the essentials in place. Although getting these documents in place might not represent the perfect plan, it is a plan. Advisors can then build on this foundation with additional layers (e.g., ILITs, SLATs, GRATs) as the client's needs evolve.

Make Estate Planning A Recurring Agenda Item

Incorporating estate planning into the client's annual financial review makes it a natural and recurring agenda item that can be included in the broader planning conversation. Presenting it alongside familiar agenda items – like rebalancing the portfolio or reviewing insurance coverage – can normalize it as an expected topic of discussion.

Additionally, estate planning can be incorporated into the advisor's planning service calendar to ensure continual touchpoints with the client. For example:

• Early in the year: Review beneficiary designations and estate documents.
• End-of-year: Assess year-end annual exemption gifting, charitable planning, and trust funding status.

Advisors can also run ‘what-if' simulations to model the financial impact of death or disability. These projections can help clients understand the tangible value of planning – not just in theory, but in real dollars.

Let's take the example of Michael and Holly Scott, an ultra-high-net-worth couple with an estate exceeding $50 million. They are concerned about future estate tax exposure reducing the amount that will reach their heirs and charity, especially in light of the political uncertainty surrounding the Federal exemption.

In an effort to help address this, their advisor looks into the following estate tax mitigation strategies:

• A Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) helps John and Jane shift $1.5 million out of their taxable estate across 2025 and 2026, supporting long-term charitable giving and avoiding capital gains on appreciated assets.
• A Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT) is funded in 2026 with $10 million of Jane's closely held business interests, anticipating a liquidity event. This allows wealth transfer with minimal gift tax implications.
• An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) is funded with $1 million in 2028 to purchase a $4 million second-to-die policy. The death benefit passes outside the estate to benefit children directly and tax-efficiently.
• Annual exclusion gifting begins in 2025, shifting $19,000 per recipient to children and grandchildren. When combined with 529 plan funding, this could shift over $7 million from their estate over time.

Using the right planning software, their advisor projects the impact of these strategies:

• $12.9 million more to heirs
• $1.5 million more to charity
• $17.6 million less in estate taxes

All told, the scenario boosts the projected total value to heirs and charity from $71.7 million to $84.6 million, while reducing the tax liability from $47.8 million to $30.2 million. With the appropriate  planning software, an advisor can model this scenario and clearly illustrate how asset growth, exemption changes, and gifting strategies like SLATs can affect long-term estate tax exposure. These tools allow advisors to compare scenarios, quantify savings, and communicate the value of advanced planning in a way clients can easily understand.

Use The Right Tools And Partners

Technology and strong professional networks that include Centers Of Influence (COIs) can go a long way in simplifying the estate planning process for both the advisor and the client.

Many modern estate planning platforms offer features like document creation, AI-assisted estate document reviews, digital vaults, and direct attorney access. These tools let clients take action from within the advisor's existing tech ecosystem, avoiding the need to navigate the process – and its many legal complexities – on their own.

For clients with more advanced needs, advisors can benefit from maintaining relationships with experienced estate planning attorneys. These professionals can help implement sophisticated trust strategies designed for high-net-worth individuals and multigenerational wealth transfers using structures such as irrevocable trusts.

Ultimately, having the right tools and partners in place doesn't just make the process more accessible; it also reinforces the advisor's role as a comprehensive financial planner – not just as an investment manager.

Every client has an estate plan – the only question is whether it's a default plan created by their state legislature or one that's been intentionally tailored to reflect their values, goals, and family dynamics.

Advisors have a unique opportunity to guide clients through this critical process. With compassionate guidance, clear communication, educational resources, and the right tools and partners, advisors can make the difference between procrastination and preparation. And by encouraging clients to complete their planning, they not only help deliver peace of mind, they also strengthen retention and lay the foundation for deeper, more lasting multigenerational relationships!