No significant changes seen in adults making estate plans
in recent years

Louisville Business Journal
Compiled by Laura Hagan, Staff writer
Date: Friday, July 22, 2011, 6:00am EDT

News Clip Louisville Business Journal In 2009, WealthCounsel and Trusts & Estates magazine surveyed 712 estate-planning attorneys nationwide, reporting on changes in the industry.

The January 2010 report covers challenges, demographics, growth and planning.

Estate planning attorneys who responded to the survey had practiced for an average of 20 years.

According to the report, 40 percent said business has increased from the previous year while 35 percent saw revenue decline.

Other key findings in the report include:

  • Respondents noticed several challenges in their practice, with 44 percent saying the biggest challenge was getting clients in the door, followed closely by marketing with 38 percent.
  • Legal and technical education, and client relationship skills were the lowest-ranked challenges identified, accounting for only 15 percent and 6 percent, respectively.
  • Married couples made up 59 percent of the client demographics among those surveyed, and the majority of clients are age 50 or older.
  • Net worth of those married clients runs the gamut, however, with 21 percent worth less than $500,000; 21 percent worth $500,000 to $1 million; 21 percent worth $1 million to $2 million; and 22 percent worth between $2 million and less than $5 million.

Survey shows interest in additional practice areas

According to a 2009 WealthCounsel and Trusts & Estates survey, there are several practice areas where estate-planning attorneys aren’t active but would like to be.

Among those areas, physicians, dentists or other high-risk clients seemed the most popular choice, with 30 percent of respondents saying they would like to add that specific practice area.

Other practice areas estate attorneys would like to add include client-maintenance programs, asset-protection planning, business-succession planning, charitable planning, elder law, business-entity planning, trust administration, pet trusts and agribusiness.




By The NumbersSource: The Wills & Estate planning survey conducted by Harris Interactive, December 2009

35: percentage of adults who currently have wills

73: percentage of adults who agree the state of the economy has made it difficult to plan for the future

9: percentage of adults who haven’t created an estate plan because they don’t want to think about dying or becoming incapacitated

7: percentage of adults who don’t know what an estate plan is.

17: percentage who think they don’t have enough assets for an estate plan