Expertise essential for estate planning
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Financial planners moving into estate planning advice need to make sure they are not receiving legal advice from lawyers who aren’t trained in estate planning, according to Michael Perkins, special counsel for Diamond Conway Lawyers.
In a presentation at the Financial Planning Association Small Principals’ conference, Perkins said that financial planners need to be careful when looking for legal advice about estate planning, because the laws of succession — which are central to estate planning — are not included in lawyers’ compulsory training.
In a later interview with Money Management, Perkins said financial planners cannot rely on any associated commercial or corporate lawyer to give legal advice on estate planning.
He knew of at least one financial planner who complained that the lawyer they consulted with on estate planning gave him the wrong legal advice and did not understand his client objectives, Perkins said.
As the referring adviser, the planner can be complicit in putting their clients in the hands of a lawyer who wasn’t going to do the right job and might disappoint or interfere with the rights of the estate beneficiaries, Perkins said.
The professionals involved in the will-making process, including the planner, can be accountable to the beneficiaries, he added.
However, so far the most serious complaint he has heard about the problem concerned client dissatisfaction, Perkins said.
As the population ages, and planners move into the more specialised area of estate planning, planners need to devote more attention to finding the right legal advice, he added.
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