Johnson, Lohrfink: Why Estate Planning Is the CPA’s Next Frontier | Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

Technology streamlines the process, but strong communication builds the needed relationships.

By Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™
For CPA Trendlines

Research shows that 93% of people want estate planning services from their financial advisor but only 22% are actually getting that advice. As detailed in my new book Holistic Guide to Wealth Management for CPAs, estate planning offers practitioners the ability to provide a family office level of care to clients, whether they are business owners, retiring boomers, or next Gen. 

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Danny Lohrfink, co-founder and chief product officer of estate planning software Wealth.com, said estate planning has long been an antiquated profession that costs a lot of money, takes a great deal of time, and often delivers an outcome that is too complex for the client/family to understand. “These are the kinds of core problems that technology is meant to solve,” notes Lohrfink, a contributor to my book. “How do you reduce the cost and amount of time spent doing things?”  

According to Lohrfink, technology can help practitioners address the varying needs of clients across the net worth spectrum.

 “The mass affluent folks don't really have a federally taxable estate and want to set up a simple trust without spending $5,000,” he says. “So maybe they're not trying to optimize for taxes, whereas the ultra-high-net-worth clients are. But there's still a need for really good, solid estate planning guidance, and the CPA/advisor can play a fundamental role just like the trust and estate attorney may play a fundamental role.”