When Clients Ask for a “Simple” Estate Plan

When clients ask for a “simple” estate plan, they may be expressing concerns about cost, time, comprehension, emotional burden, administration, control, or decision fatigue. This webinar will help lawyers, CPAs, and financial advisers respond with disciplined simplicity: matching planning complexity to the client’s circumstances, objectives, and ability to carry the plan forward. Attendees will learn a practical method for clarifying the client’s context, defining desired outcomes, developing a manageable set of options, and making the implications of each option visible. The program will also address how to preserve client agency while providing candid professional advice, make sophisticated planning easier to understand, identify risks and responsibilities that a simpler approach may shift to others, and recognize when phased planning may be useful. The program will include practical guidance on client communication, decision-making under emotional or informational strain, and documentation of alternatives, recommendations, risks, deferrals, and implementation responsibilities. Participants will leave with questions, language, and a planning sequence they can use when a client says, “I just want a simple estate plan.”

Speakers: Paul Edelman, PhD and Martin Shenkman, Esq.