Hope, Healing & Estate Planning: How financial advisors can help their clients find peace

By Dasarte Yarnway, Managing Partner & Financial Advisor, Yarnway Wealth

The truth is that I am traumatized.

When I think about my biggest fears, concerns and even some of the reasons for my behavior it takes me back to one experience: losing my father at a young age.

Loss, though inevitable for us all, is one of the phenomenons of this life. We see it, we feel it, but few understand it. I was one of the few, especially as a child.

My father battled cancer for five years. My family, in and out of hospitals, my mother losing weight from the overwhelming stress and our village banding together in anticipation of the inevitable have left me with more questions than answers, and with a constantly churning mind.

My parents, like many of the people I have served over my advising careers, were living in the moment. Life’s duties competing for their attention almost always provided little time to zoom out, and zoom in on the things that could make a lasting impact. Easily overlooked, an estate plan was the last of their worries especially when things went south.

Fortunately, as financial advisors, we have an opportunity to serve our clients to ensure that when life happens they’ll never have to be left to figure out the pieces alone.

Provide Hope

Our biggest calling as advisors is to inspire our clients to action through financial plans, counsel and partnership. This act of service is the genesis of hope, not just for today but for tomorrow. Your clients aren’t just coming to you to grow their assets or beat a benchmark. Great financial advisors are able to explore the human motivations for why people are in pursuit of specific goals. You can assist in being a hope dealer to your clients’ goals through thorough planning and partnership.

When I think about my immigrant parents staring the realities of death in the face, hope seemed far-fetched. Yet, we have the opportunity to plan for a brighter future in the midst of storms. Where there is hope, change is not too far behind.

Provide Healing

Trauma is a continuous struggle for all of us whether we acknowledge it or not. In our industry, money trauma is often the star of the show, but I’d argue that there are other details that influence the money decisions that all of us make.

Healing is not a sprint. It takes time, patience—especially for one’s self—and a lot of communication. Before loss strikes, as it inevitably does, a properly done financial plan can help to keep the attention on healing throughout life’s most difficult times.

My father didn’t have an estate plan, but I think about what having one would have meant for my mother and our family during our bereavement process. What could our financial lives have looked like if he had the advice of a professional? You and I have the chance to lessen the number of people who go without proper plans and can prioritize healing if the unthinkable happens.

Provide Estate Planning

Americans have spoken. One of the most requested services that consumers are asking for is estate planning. It also happens to be the biggest shortfall in planning for many financial advisors.

While retirement planning, investment management, tax planning and insurance are important, the glue that holds a financial plan together is an estate plan. In our society, accumulation has been the focus, but little focus is given to the “handoff.” Beneficiary designations, boilerplate wills and insurance policies alone won’t cut it.

We have an opportunity to impact the lives of our clients, but most importantly the generation behind them. By thoughtfully crafting estate plans for their assets, we can inspire, resource and propel the plans of their heirs. This is our duty.

Provide Value

Advisors should think critically about how we serve our clients, even if that means tapping other professions for assistance. Estate planning used to be a foreign service, only available through estate attorneys—many of which we vetted and networked with to share with clients. But digital estate planning offers the ability for advisors to be in the driver’s seat alongside their clients. Through providers like wealth.com, we have the ability to encourage hope, healing and sound estate planning.