Opportunities for Advisors in Estate Planning: A Conversation with Estate Attorney Martin Shenkman

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Marty shares the attorney’s perspective on the advisor’s role, from spotting issues and educating clients to knowing your limits and avoiding unauthorised practice of law. Andrew shares real examples from the last two weeks of issues uncovered through estate document review. Together they discuss how to build productive relationships with estate attorneys, why advisors should never draft documents, how estate planning wins prospects and connects with the next generation, and where AI tools like FP Alpha fit in the workflow.

What You’ll Learn

• The estate attorney’s perspective on the advisor’s role — a first-of-its-kind view from a 40-year practitioner on what advisors should do, what they shouldn’t, and where the boundaries are
• Why the financial advisor is becoming the catalyst for estate planning — clients meet with advisors quarterly but may see their attorney once every 3–5 years, making the advisor the last line of defence
• Real examples of issues uncovered in the last two weeks — irrevocable trusts that made no sense, minor children named as direct beneficiaries, special needs trust beneficiary designation errors, and state estate tax exposure in Oregon
• Why advisors should never draft estate documents — the liability risks, the unauthorised practice of law, and why the revenue isn’t worth it from both the attorney’s and the advisor’s perspective
• How to turn estate attorneys into referral sources — being supportive rather than competitive, staying involved in the planning process, and providing three attorney options rather than one
• How estate planning wins prospects and retains assets across generations — specific examples of winning clients through estate analysis that competing firms missed
• How FP Alpha supports this workflow — document upload, estate snapshots, flowcharts, insights, and the Estate Lab for scenario modelling, with Marty’s own review of the tool’s output

Chapters

Click a timestamp to jump to that section of the webinar.

1. 0:07 — Welcome & Introductions
2. 2:09 — Marty Shenkman’s Opening — A Sea Change in Estate Planning
3. 8:10 — The Financial Advisor’s Role in Estate Planning — The Attorney’s View
4. 12:16 — Know Your Swim Lane — Doing More Within Your Expertise
5. 14:25 — Why Advisors Should Not Draft Documents or Do Tax Returns
6. 15:21 — What Every Advisor Can Do — Flowcharts, Fiduciaries & Common Sense
7. 18:08 — Andrew’s View — The Advisor as the Last Line of Defence
8. 18:58 — Real Examples: Irrevocable Trust, Minor Beneficiaries, Special Needs & Oregon Tax
9. 26:10 — Business Case — Winning Prospects, Retaining Assets & Connecting with Next Gen
10. 28:31 — Turning Estate Attorneys Into Referral Sources
11. 32:00 — Estate Planning Tools — From Nice-to-Have to Must-Have
12. 34:56 — Should Advisors Use Robo Document Drafting Tools?
13. 42:47 — The Workflow When There’s No Attorney — Completing the Process
14. 46:32 — Unauthorised Practice of Law — What It Is and How to Stay Safe
15. 51:31 — FP Alpha Demo — Document Upload, Snapshots, Estate Lab
16. 54:12 — Marty’s Review of FP Alpha — What Impressed Him
17. 55:34 — Audience Q&A — Attorney Billing, Community Property & More

Key Takeaways

The Financial Advisor Is Becoming the Catalyst for Estate Planning — Not the Attorney

Marty described this as a sea change in the estate planning world. Advisors meet with clients quarterly or annually; estate attorneys often don’t get clients back for 3–5 years. For the mass affluent client (under $10–20M), the advisor is increasingly the person who surfaces estate issues, motivates action, and educates clients. Marty’s view: this shift is inevitable and unstoppable. Even advisors with limited estate planning knowledge can provide enormous value simply by raising issues, asking questions, and getting clients back in front of their attorney. The advisor’s regular contact gives them knowledge of the family’s life changes, new businesses, health issues, divorces, new properties, that the attorney typically doesn’t have.

Know Your Swim Lane — And Never Draft Documents

Both speakers agreed on the clearest boundary: advisors should not draft estate documents. Marty’s reasoning comes from a liability perspective — the most dangerous part of estate planning from a malpractice standpoint is the document drafting. A single wrong word (he cited the HEMS standard in trusts) can make an entire document fail. Andrew’s reasoning comes from a business perspective, drafting documents cannibalises the attorney referral relationship that drives new client introductions. Their shared conclusion: the real profit and value is in the planning conversations, the issue identification, and the education. Documents are commoditised and carry the highest risk. Why pursue the lowest-value, highest-risk part of the workflow?

The Advisor Is the Last Line of Defence for Catching Estate Planning Errors

Andrew shared four real examples from the preceding two weeks alone. A woman in her late 40s who put all assets into an irrevocable trust to qualify children for financial aid — when her ex-husband was paying for education anyway. A client naming minor children directly as retirement account beneficiaries instead of their testamentary trust. Parents of an autistic child who named the child (not the special needs trust) as beneficiary of retirement accounts. And a new client in Oregon with a million dollars in state estate tax exposure that no one had flagged. In every case, the issue was identified through the advisor reviewing documents, not through the attorney. Marty’s point: if the advisor doesn’t raise it, who will?

Be an Ally to the Attorney, Not a Competitor, And They’ll Refer Back

Marty shared that he once surveyed estate attorneys anonymously for a large financial firm and found predominantly negative views of financial advisors, they were seen as interfering and overstepping. But he said the fix is straightforward: position yourself as supportive of the attorney’s work. Be the catalyst for the conversation, surface the issues, then bring the client back to the attorney. If you do this well, attorneys become centres of influence who refer clients to you. Andrew shared a specific example: an estate attorney sent him a $10M prospective client because the attorney had seen Andrew work diplomatically with another client’s estate plan. The key: always refer to three attorneys (not one) so the client chooses, and stay involved in the planning process rather than handing off and disappearing.

Protect Yourself from Unauthorised Practice of Law Through Communication Design

Marty explained that unauthorised practice of law is a real and enforceable concept, he cited the Corporate Transparency Act where states explicitly ruled that non-attorneys couldn’t fill out the required filings. His practical advice for advisors: design your follow-up communications to clearly frame your role. After a meeting, send a letter saying: “Here are ideas we discussed that you should address with your estate planning attorney.” Add a standard sentence noting that you’re happy to help but are not attorneys or accountants and cannot provide professional guidance in those areas. This creates a paper trail that keeps you on the right side of the line while still delivering enormous value through education and issue identification.

Real Estate Planning Issues Shared in This Webinar

Tips & Best Practices from This Webinar

About the Speakers