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Is It Time for an Upgrade? How to Choose the Best Software for Estate Planning Today

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As a financial planner, providing comprehensive estate planning solutions is a key part of helping your clients secure their financial future.

With estate planning technology evolving rapidly, staying ahead of the curve means having the right tools to streamline processes, ensure accuracy, and enhance your service offerings.

But with so many estate planning software options available today, how do you determine what’s best for your practice and your clients? Is it time for an upgrade, or are your current tools still meeting industry demands?

Key Takeaways
  • Upgrading estate planning software can often enhance your firm’s efficiency and your client’s experience.
  • The best estate planning software integrates compliance, collaboration, and financial forecasting, while cutting down on administrative tasks.
  • Emerging trends in estate planning offers financial planners the chance to combine their human expertise with cutting-edge technology to create more efficient, data-driven, and client-centered estate strategies.
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Whether you’ve been in the financial field for years, or are a new financial planner who is growing your client list, it’s important to keep up with the latest tools and technologies that enhance your ability to provide comprehensive and efficient estate planning services.

Let’s look more closely at the benefits of upgrading your estate planning tools and which ones will be best for your firm.

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Estate Planning Software: The Key to Comprehensive Financial Planning

Estate planning is more than just drafting estate planning documents—it’s an essential component of holistic financial planning that ensures wealth is protected, distributed efficiently, and aligned with long-term financial goals.

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From wills and trusts to health care directives and beneficiary designations, estate planning encompasses a range of critical financial and legal decisions that safeguard assets and provide clarity for loved ones.

As financial planners seek to offer strategic guidance to clients, estate planning software has become a critical tool for helping make this happen.

Here’s why:

Estate Planning Software Takes Estate Planning to the Next Level:

While most of your clients may seek the help of legal professionals and/or a specific estate planning attorney for document drafting, a financial planner can then take those documents and integrate them into a comprehensive financial strategy, ensuring that assets are managed efficiently and aligned with long-term wealth goals.

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Estate Planning Software Allows for Automated Estate Document Management:

Managing wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations manually can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Estate planning software automates the process, ensuring documents are accurate, properly formatted, and that secure document storage is a priority.

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Estate Planning Software Provides Real-Time Financial Projections:

By integrating estate planning with financial forecasting tools, advisors can provide clients with data-driven insights on inheritance distribution, tax implications, and wealth preservation strategies. This helps to better engage clients in the overall process, increasing their satisfaction with your services.

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Estate Planning Software is Designed with Compliance in Mind:

Estate laws and tax regulations change frequently, and outdated documents can lead to costly mistakes. Estate planning software helps financial planners stay compliant and protect clients from potential liabilities.

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Estate Planning Software Prioritizes Document Safety:

Advanced estate planning platforms feature encrypted cloud storage allowing advisors to maintain confidentiality while providing clients, their estate lawyer and/or their heirs with seamless document transfer, retrieval and updates.

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By leveraging these features, financial planners can provide higher-value services, improve efficiency, and offer clients a seamless estate planning experience that aligns with their long-term financial goals.

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Best Practices: Trends and Tips for Choosing the Best Estate Planning Software Today

As estate planning technology continues to evolve, financial planners must stay ahead by choosing software that aligns with industry trends, enhances efficiency, and meets client expectations.

Selecting the right platform is more than just finding an easy-to-use tool—it requires understanding best practices and emerging features to ensure long-term success.

Here are 6 key trends and practical tips to help you select the best estate planning software for your firm:

#1: Automation & AI Capabilities Are a Must

Trend: Estate planning software is increasingly incorporating AI-driven tools that automate complex calculations, refine tax planning strategies, and help onboard clients to the estate planning process.

Best Practice: Look for platforms that offer (or are planning to offer) scenario modeling tools to visualize different estate planning outcomes, which will help to onboard clients more efficiently and help them discuss their long-term goals.

By leveraging automation and AI, financial planners can streamline workflows, enhance decision-making, and ensure estate plans account for both traditional and digital assets, all while helping guide their clients through the estate planning process.

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#2: Cloud-Based Solutions Allow for Everyone’s Satisfaction

Trend: Cloud technology has revolutionized estate planning, enabling secure remote access to estate documents and collaboration between clients, law firms, and financial advisors.

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Best Practice: Opt for cloud-based estate planning software that:

  • Provides encrypted storage for maximum security of all legal documents.
  • Offers multi-device access, allowing clients to review plans from anywhere.
  • Enables real-time collaboration with e-signatures and shared workspaces.

A cloud-powered solution ensures efficiency, flexibility, and security, making estate planning more accessible for both advisors and clients.

#3: Compatibility and Collaboration is Key

Trend: Estate planning software is increasingly designed to seamlessly integrate with financial planning platforms, CRMs, and tax optimization tools.

Best Practice: Choose a system that integrates with your firm’s client intake and practice management software and any other platforms you are currently using.

A well-integrated estate planning platform improves workflow efficiency and allows planners to deliver a unified financial strategy to clients.

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#4: Focus on User-Friendly Features and Good Client Communication

Trend: Today’s financial planning clients want seamless, intuitive experiences that make estate planning accessible and easier to understand.

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Best Practice: Look for platforms that:

  • Provide visual estate planning tools, such as interactive wealth distribution models.
  • Offer educational resources, helping clients understand estate laws and tax planning.
  • Feature mobile-friendly interfaces, allowing client documents and other client data to be accessed on different devices.

A client-friendly software solution ensures smoother engagement, better decision-making, and increased client satisfaction. It also gives clients the sense of financial power they are looking for, resulting in more satisfaction as well.

#5: Consider Scalability for Future Growth

Trend: As AI and estate planning technologies continue to expand, financial planners need software solutions that adapt to future advancements.

Best Practice: Select software that:

  • Supports future updates and AI-driven enhancements.
  • Can scale with growing estate planning needs, whether for solo advisors or large firms.
  • Offers modular features, allowing customization as client requirements evolve.
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Strong and scalable software will automatically create a way for financial planners to stay ahead of industry advancements and continue delivering high-quality estate planning services.

Holistiplan: The Best Choice for Estate Planning Success

Choosing the best estate planning software can be a challenge for financial planners when the industry seems to be changing so rapidly.

This is why Holistiplan was created.

At Holistiplan, our team takes the guesswork out of estate planning by providing a powerful, intuitive software solution designed specifically for financial planners by financial planners.

Now trusted by over 40,000 financial professionals, Holistiplan simplifies the estate planning process with features like estate reporting, asset diagrams, and beneficiary reviews — all designed to help financial planners create comprehensive, well-structured estate plans tailored to each client’s unique needs.

By choosing Holistiplan, financial planners can stay ahead of industry changes, enhance client relationships, and offer cutting-edge estate planning services that maximize wealth preservation and financial security.

When you’re ready to re-evaluate your estate planning tools, reach out to us at Holistiplan. We can’t wait to show you how safe, simple, and satisfying estate planning can be!

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