Estate planning coordination for advisors becomes most important in exactly the moment it is hardest to arrange: after a client has already signed a will they found online or built with an AI tool, without anyone comparing it to the accounts, beneficiary designations, and family relationships already in place. That gap is rarely intentional. Clients who complete an online or AIs-generated will … [Read more...] about Estate Planning Coordination for Advisors: Where Online and AI Wills Create Gaps
Navigator-Advisor Newsletter
What the Revised Alabama Small Estates Act Means for Your Clients
A client comes in for a routine review. Modest retirement account, a paid-down mortgage, no complicated holdings. It is tempting to tell them their estate is simple enough that a basic beneficiary designation will take care of everything. Alabama's Revised Small Estates Act, which took effect for deaths on or after October 1, 2025, makes that assumption worth revisiting. The Act defines a … [Read more...] about What the Revised Alabama Small Estates Act Means for Your Clients
The Vacation Home Your Client Has Not Planned For
Many Gulf Coast advisors work with clients who own a vacation home. They know the property exists. They may have factored it into the financial plan. What often goes unaddressed is the legal structure around it and what happens when there is none. This is worth a conversation. Why the Vacation Home Gets Overlooked Advisors are thorough about retirement accounts, life insurance, and … [Read more...] about The Vacation Home Your Client Has Not Planned For
When a Client Remarries: What Advisors Need to Know About Estate Planning in Alabama
Remarriage is one of the most common life events that exposes gaps in an existing estate plan, and one of the least likely to be caught before it causes a problem. For advisors working with clients in Alabama, understanding what the law does and does not do in a blended family situation is essential context for identifying when a referral to an estate planning attorney is not just helpful but … [Read more...] about When a Client Remarries: What Advisors Need to Know About Estate Planning in Alabama
Who Controls the Funeral? What Alabama Law Says About Disposition of the Body
Most estate planning conversations cover the expected ground. Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, beneficiary designations. The right of disposition rarely comes up. That gap is worth closing. In Alabama, funeral and burial decisions follow a specific legal priority order. When family members cannot agree, the dispute can reach a probate court judge within hours of a death. For clients with … [Read more...] about Who Controls the Funeral? What Alabama Law Says About Disposition of the Body
What Advisors Should Know When a Client Says “My Family Will Figure It Out”
One of the most common phrases in estate planning conversations is some version of: "We are a close family. Everyone gets along. My kids will figure it out." Clients say it with genuine confidence. They mean it. And from a relationship standpoint, they may be entirely right. From a legal standpoint, it is incomplete. For advisors working with clients on financial planning, retirement, or … [Read more...] about What Advisors Should Know When a Client Says “My Family Will Figure It Out”
