All In The Family

Getting some clients to talk about asset transfers at death is hard, but if left undone, it is likely that the client’s family will pay a terrible price, both emotionally and financially. With that in mind, one company has developed guidelines for planners and their clients.

Called "Exploring the Family Dynamics of Wealth," the program -- sponsored by Hartford, Conn.-based Phoenix Companies and free for advisers who use Phoenix services -- offers solutions to advisers and their clients in family financial planning.

The tools and educational materials include instructional guidelines for implementing family meetings, a wealth management questionnaire (which includes questions about the client’s vision for creating family wealth, philanthropy, family values and inheritances) and a family wealth resource guide that discusses emotional aspects of wealth management. Planners can also use a licensed psychologist, at a discounted rate through Phoenix, to work through family meetings.

"So much of the business has been geared toward the accumulation of assets. Most advisers today are still in that mindset," said Walter Zultowski, senior vice president of marketing and market research at Phoenix. So much so, he said, that many advisers have not concentrated on the emotional and other non-financial aspects of money. "For a lot of planners, this is not second nature. For some advisers it just doesn’t come automatically."

Zultowski said although multigenerational planning is common with ultra-wealthy clients, advisers with lower net worth clients should be thinking about it as well. "We were trying to make some of these concepts easier for advisers to use and implement at a lower net worth level," he said.

Phoenix may be gearing advisers for multigenerational planning, but some financial services companies said educating advisers about comprehensive planning at the beginning is essential. "This is baked into the system," said Ardis Nohner-Black, vice president of financial planning advice services at American Express Financial Advisors about its formal training program, which conforms to CFP Board standards. "It’s linked with our internal quality of advice where advisers are annually reviewed."

This story first appeared on Financial Planning Interactive.

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