The silver tsunami is coming.
Between now and 2061, an estimated $59 trillion will be transferred from 93.6 million American estates to the future generations.
That’s a whole lot of clients who need you.
If they try to do it themselves online, without the guidance of a trusted advisor, it is going to mean their loved ones end up in court and conflict.
But here’s the thing, most lawyers -- quite frankly -- do not have the proper training to do it right, either.
Most lawyers will see the rise of online legal services and get scared away from providing estate planning and succession planning services, thinking that people will just increasingly do it online themselves.
Most lawyers will not know how to become a trusted advisor around this impending tsunami of opportunity, in order to get their client’s life and legacy in good standing, and certainly to keep their loved ones out of court.
Imagine serving clients who are thrilled to have your support, because you are giving them such peace of mind with a plan helps them live a meaningful life now and ensures that their loved ones will be taken care of, and most importantly avoiding court and conflict, later.
To take this one step further, now imagine helping business owners transfer so much of the business assets and ethos during their life, ensuring it will be an ongoing entity, instead of being lost or squandered as is often the case.
When estate planning and business succession planning is done right, the client feels it. The client is happy to pay for it.
I speak from my own experience here, and even going to one of this country’s best law schools and graduating top of my class, I was pretty much just trained to churn out documents that are almost guaranteed to fail without more specialized attention to the details that really matter.
While at Munger, Tolles, & Olson — a truly great firm in many respects — I experienced firsthand what practicing law has become for most attorneys: filling out forms and shuffling paperwork, having no meaningful connection with clients, hourly billing, having to constantly hunt for new clients, and not feeling any sense of joy or accomplishment.
If you’re at all like most attorneys, I’m sure you can relate to that.
Today, with the typical law business model used by the majority of attorneys — maybe even by you — life is probably far from what you imagined while going through law school.
For many attorneys today, practicing law the “old way” has become a significant source of anxiety, disappointment, and, even, emotional distress. We believe it’s a core reason for depression and addiction in our profession. (According to CNN, attorneys are 3.6 times more likely to suffer from depression than non-attorneys.)
Knowing that we help lawyers avoid depression is one of the many joys we get to feel here at NLBM. In fact, we think that once you practicing the NLBM way, you will once again love the idea of being a lawyer… and love practicing law again.
First, estate planning is needed and wanted by over 90% of the population, not just older individuals and not just for the 2-3% of the population in need of advanced estate tax planning.
That’s why Richard Behrendt, former Estate Tax Attorney with the IRS, went on public record saying, “The demand for the services and expertise of estate planners in the United States will be greater than ever in the coming years and decades. In fact, we may be about to enter the Golden Age of Estate Planning.”
And while it may be true that fewer U.S. taxpayers are likely to need the more advanced and exotic wealth transfer planning strategies, you should have no doubt that the services and expertise of estate planning professionals is, and will continue to be, in greater demand than ever before, now, and for many years to come.
Also of note: it’s far more enjoyable to practice in this area than ever before. In fact, we believe that it’s the most satisfying practice area you can possibly be involved in, whether it’s your primary practice area or an add-on service you provide to your existing clients from any practice area.
That’s why it’s not uncommon for the NLBM attorneys to experience not just an immediate jump in revenues and take-home income, but also an immediate increase in their feeling of fulfillment and happiness.
If you’d like to speak to one of our advisors and get their help in understanding how NLBM could possibly meet your specific needs and goals, use our online calendar to schedule a call today.
