Raymond James study: What rich clients need in estate planning

While most wealth management clients know where they want their money to go after they pass, many lack a clear plan for communicating those bequests — and guarding their estate from Uncle Sam in the process. 

According to Raymond James, that's where financial advisors today can offer some of the most value to wealthy clients — filling in those common service gaps. The St. Petersburg, Florida-based independent broker-dealer on Aug. 23 released results of a study that examined some of the most important wealth transfer services investors value, as it looks to grow its wealth management business further by leaning into financial planning in high-demand areas like estate planning and tax. 

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Tax savings in particular is a hot-button topic for affluent clients, as the study found that 91% of respondents said "tax efficiency" was important for their wealth transfer. Yet only 26%, just over a quarter, of the respondents said they had consulted a tax professional for help, according to a press release on the study — and some 37% "either don't have tax-efficient strategies in their plans or aren't sure" if they do, Raymond James said in an infographic on the study results — suggesting a role for advisors to play if they can step in with the right tax help in this area. 

"We're on the footsteps of potential changes to the federal estate tax liability, which obviously our high net worth and ultrahigh net worth clients might be impacted by," Will Lucius, chief trust officer at Raymond James Trust, said in an interview commenting on the study. "Those laws and regulations certainly bring some of those issues front of mind, when it comes to updating or creating their estate plans." 

The other big finding of the research was that investors wanted their heirs to be prepared for inheriting the family money, but often worried they weren't. Just under half, 45%, of the investors said they were concerned about heirs' lack of preparation for managing inherited assets, but 89% said transparency around who gets what is important, and 87% said they thought maintaining family harmony was important.  

With both of those service areas, the Raymond James study has identified what Lucius calls a "gap" between intentions and actions for clients. For example, a rich client might intend to find tax help on their estate planning or family governance, but they may not take the initiative to seek out specialized help in those areas. "That's one area where advisors and other professionals can really add value, is helping to push the clients along in that direction and actually putting pen to paper," Lucius said. 

The firm has "a great bench of professionals" to support advisors in those deeper dives, Lucius said. Advisors are "not just having the conversation and sending the clients on their way — they have the depth of resources behind them to help connect with the client" to specialized resources, such as experts in his unit, the Raymond James Trust. 

Lucius added that assistance for clients on charitable donations, such as through the Raymond James donor-advised fund program, can be a way to both help them with estate planning and save on taxes — and said that fund has been growing in popularity in the past couple of years. Over half, 54%, of investors in the survey also said making a "positive philanthropic impact" was important to them. 

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Cynthia D. Brittain, an estate planning attorney who is a partner at law firm Karlin & Peebles, said that clients valued similar services the most, in her experience. 

"Clients most value our experience with succession planning for tax purposes and as it relates to family dynamics," Brittain said in an email, adding that asset protection for clients' children and tax efficiency were two other important areas. 

"One of the most common questions clients ask is when their children should be involved in a family business and/or finances. I encourage clients to involve their children as soon as possible — the sooner you can help children become good stewards of their wealth, the lesser the likelihood of a bad tax outcome, or more importantly, costly and frustrating litigation down the line." 

The Raymond James study was conducted online by Morning Consult for Raymond James in November 2022, and polled 1,000 randomly selected American investors who each had at least $500,000 of investable assets. The survey results have a margin of error of 3 percentage points, the firm said in the press release.