NAEPC News / JULY 2022

Dear Members and Friends,

We’re over half-way through the calendar year and my presidency and my, how fast the first seven months of the year have gone!  While many things are beginning to return to a more typical pace and plan, I recognize that some of our councils and members have yet to do so.  Know that we’re here to support you through these ongoing unusual times and that our board of directors understands that we must remain as flexible and accommodating as possible while still upholding the highest ethical and industry standards.
 
Many of the association’s activities have continued along as planned throughout the last several years. The webinar committee continues to deliver exceptional virtual education, had a record-breaking 2021 and is headed toward breaking more records this year, and offered its yearly honorarium on behalf of the season’s presenters to the American Bar Association Ukraine Response Project.
 
The website and technology committee continues to implement enhancements to both the council website system and the national website and we’re very excited for several recent and upcoming updates, including: a page within the login portal for new AEP® designees that provides a single location for everything related to the program; a visual map of designees in each state (similar to the council map); and a calendar of events dedicated to the growing number of programs offered by NAEPC. These new features are sure to enhance your experience at www.NAEPC.org and there are even more exciting updates planned for the council website system!

On the topic of technology, NAEPC continues to advocate for approval of the e-apostille implementation, or electronic certification of a document's authenticity, on a permanent basis in each of the 50 states. We hope you will join us in this effort by contacting your Secretary of State.

The board of directors continues to tackle important topics while working together to meet the association’s over-arching goals and encouraging cross-committee dialogue. We also recently finished the mid-year board meeting, a longer leadership gathering at which slight revisions to the mission statement were adopted to more accurately reflect the current membership structure, the association’s event conduct statement was amended to reflect health and wellness considerations, and reports from each committee were heard.

Nominations for the NAEPC Board of Directors are open until August 5, 2022.  If you have an interest in serving the association, please email our national office for a copy of the application.

There is one item for which we are particularly excited… the association’s return to in-person events this November 15-18, 2022 at the 59th Annual Advanced Estate Planning Strategies Conference. The event will also include the traditional pre-conference sessions for council leaders. Please plan on joining us for what is sure to be an invigorating and collegial conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We’ll be glad to have you with us.

Sincerely,

2022 President

November 15 - 18, 2022 · Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa

The Annual Conference provides attendees with nationally-recognized speakers on subjects of interest to multi-disciplinary professionals and opportunities to create new relationships while exploring cutting-edge ideas and trends. 

> See the full schedule

Who Should Attend? 

• The Pre-Conference Sessions for Estate Planning Council Leaders are for officers, directors, and staff members of councils affiliated with NAEPC.
• The conference educational sessions are for every member of every estate planning council and all estate planning professionals.

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Partner Sponsors

We welcome your questions about sponsoring or exhibiting at this and upcoming annual conferences. Please contact Ed Socorro at sponsorship@naepc.org or 312-600-5303 with questions or to be added to our distribution list.

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Stories of Collaboration Using Real World Examples
Harvey A. Hutchinson III, JD, LL.M. (taxation), CFP®, AEP®

Ultra-High-Net-Worth Families Are Mindful of Collaboration Meeting Fees (and Length of Meetings, Too)
 
Collaboration among a client’s professional advisers will produce a better outcome for the client; however, at what price will such collaboration become too much for the client to endure?  The answer to that question rests with the client; therefore, what can we do (as one of the client’s advisers) to better inform the client of the need for joint meetings with other advisers and the hopeful outcomes therefrom?  Selling the benefits of the collaborative meeting is one way to capture the attention of the client; however, if acting as a fiduciary, balancing the benefits with the costs of such a meeting will be necessary.  Furthermore, giving options to the client to experience smaller collaborative meetings with various advisers may provide additional clarity into this idea.
 
Several years ago, I was part of a joint meeting with several professional advisers (i.e., estate planning attorney, CPA, insurance agent, investment adviser, financial planner, etc.) of an ultra-high-net-worth client.  The meeting was scheduled for two hours and an agenda was prepared in advance of the meeting allocating segments of time to various topics.  For example, the agenda allocated the first hour of the meeting as follows:  the first fifteen (15) minutes for introductions of the advisers to one another and a review of the final agenda; next thirty (30) minutes catching-up with the client (i.e., any news regarding the family (e.g., births, deaths, travel, etc.), business activities (e.g., addition or loss of a partner, opening or closing of a business venture), etc.); and the final fifteen (15) minutes of the first hour reviewing the client’s most recent financial plan.  The agenda was circulated among the advisers weeks before the meeting to get their input as to what topics needed to be discussed at the meeting.  Once the agenda became final among the advisers, it was sent to the client for a final review, modification, and acceptance.
 
The meeting stretched beyond the designated two hours and was well into the third hour at which time the ultra-high-net-worth client stated he was ending the meeting.  The client extended his gratitude of appreciation to all of his advisers but commented that he was the one paying the collective one thousand dollars ($1,000) per hour fee for the hourly advisers present.  Could the present value of three thousand dollars ($3,000) be more important to the client than the potential tens of thousands, if not millions, of dollars that could be saved in wealth transfer planning?  Most likely not; however, the client probably became too physically and mentally exhausted over the three-hour period and decided to end the meeting for those reasons alone.
 
So, what can we do better to make collaborative meetings more successful for clients?  Talk with the client and get their thoughts and experiences with such meetings.  List the potential benefits and costs of such a meeting for the client to review and discuss with you.  Create a collaboratively-built agenda and strictly enforce the time allocations therein.  Consider building up to one large collaborative meeting by first having smaller collaborative meetings that address one area of a client’s financial picture (i.e., insurance and risk management meeting; income tax planning meeting; cash flow and financial obligations meeting, etc.).  Limit meeting times to two (2) hours per day.  Hold the meeting a couple of hours before lunch or dinner to ensure that a natural break will arrive (i.e., people become hungry) that may prompt the closing of a meeting.  As we have experienced, client expectations and behaviors are unique and changing and how we interact with them must be flexible as well; therefore, we must continue communicating with our clients to determine the most effective way to present the collaborative plan.