Nearly half of Americans are motivated by fear to make sure their financial affairs are in order. But rather than turn to an estate planning attorney, they want to work on their plans with their financial advisors. That makes the service near table stakes for advisors these days.
According to Trust & Will's annual Financial Advisor Report, financial anxiety is on the rise, and clients are also more likely toturn to their advisor for guidanceabout what to do.
"Families are looking to try and put their affairs in order," said Cody Barbo, co-founder and CEO of Trust & Will, in an interview with Financial Planning. "Clients are continuing to prioritize financial advisors who offer estate planning, meaning it's core for the experience."
Financial anxiety is a cross-generation issue
Sixty-one percent of respondents said their financial advisor should offer estate planning as part of their services, compared with 37% who said it was essential and 34% who said it was "nice to have" in 2025.
"In years past, you could say every advisor in the country has estate attorneys in their network," said Barbo. "But those that really prioritize estate planning are the ones that are making sure their clients are getting it done."
Clients across generations agreed that concerns about the future fueled their commitment to seek out more definitive plans. More than half (54%) said their financial anxiety had increased compared to last year, with 25% saying it had risen significantly and 28% saying it had risen somewhat. Personal health events were a key contributor (16%) while the death or a serious illness of someone close (14%) came in second. Job loss and income uncertainty captivated 14% while domestic political uncertainty (13%), market volatility (11%) and tax policy concerns (11%) rounded out the picture.
"It feels like everything in our lives has gotten materially more expensive over the last six years, and we are all working our tails off just to get by," said Barbo. "These surprise factors come in and there is a financial anxiety that has this forever mounting pressure for most Americans."
Younger clients are more planning-focused
Generation Z (defined here as those born between 1997 and 2008) has also entered the conversation, and members share similar concerns. Although this demographic reported the highest trust ownership compared to Gen X, millennials, and baby boomers, "Gen Z is hitting the peak years of career and money," said Barbo. Alongside the rites of passage that include starting families and looking for homes, "they're also looking for estate planning."
"It's very important in their selection of an advisor," said Barbo. "It's reassuring us that the younger demographic is much more planning-focused than generations past."
Generationally speaking, 54% of boomers want estate planning through their advisors, compared with 66% of millennials and 67% of Gen Z. They're looking "to talk about retirement, insurance and estate planning," said Barbo.
Advisors offering estate planning could retain more clients
Advisors without estate planning offerings could risk losing out on deepening client relationships, according to 68% of advised clients in the survey who said they would consider switching advisors to one who offered estate planning. Forty percent said they were very likely to consider it, and 28% were somewhat likely.
Respondents also want to turn to their advisor for specific estate planning tasks (40%) such as basic education (35%) and a full suite of services that includes document drafting (35%). Proactive reminders were important to 33% of respondents and 45% said it was the advisor's job to inform them if their estate plan was outdated or incomplete without being asked.
Emily Boothroyd, a wealth manager at Wilton, Connecticut-based Merit Financial Advisors, is a former estate planning attorney who was recruited into financial services and kept her estate planning expertise sharp.
When she got into the industry, she found estate planning "was an area that a lot of people were underserved in because it is such a broad space," she said. "A lot of people have this idea that [without] a gajillion dollars or some sort of dynastic wealth or family problems, they don't even need it."
"I love that this pivot has happened recently," she said. "I've been so excited about this for so long. I'm really happy that more is being asked of us as advisors."
Advisors, Boothroyd said, need to know their clients well enough to make the conversation a comfortable, special experience.
"If you don't want to do that, the movement of our industry is going to pass you by," she said. "This [is an] amazing opportunity for advisors who always had strong EQ but may have held back to really lean in and start asking questions and trying to connect with their clients on a deeper level.
"Estate planning is such a great way to start."
