Eva Deniz: [00:00:00] Estate planning is emotional. So if you as my advisor, you're sending me an invitation to wealth.com to create my client account to start drafting. But we've had no conversation around, um, any kind of, you know, estate planning piece. I haven't thought about who in the world [00:00:15] are gonna be these decision makers.

Do I have any specific gifts? That's where applying can kind of stall out because boom, they're drafting in the document wizard and then all of a sudden they're overwhelmed and they don't wanna think about this. And again, death, nobody wants to think about it. So we see a best practice as far [00:00:30] as advisors leveraging deliverables that we give you, like a pre-meeting worksheet, an estate planning checklist, to really get the client's mind thinking, okay, who are the right people to play these roles?[00:00:45]

Voiceover: Welcome to Metcalf Money Moment. The podcast unlock financial clarity and confidence with expert insights to achieve your goals. Hosted by Jeff Graham, Ethan Hutchinson and Eric Wymore. Each episode offers decades of combined [00:01:00] expertise in wealth management, retirement planning, and more. Join us for practical strategies to inspire your financial journey.

Now your host.[00:01:15]

Jeb Graham: Welcome to Metcalf Money Moment podcast. My name is Jeb Graham here with Ethan Hutchinson and Eric Wey Mower, who are partners and co-hosts. And we have a special guest, Eva Denise, on today. And I did say that, right? Right. E.

Eva Deniz: You sure did. [00:01:30] We?

Jeb Graham: Well, thank you for being on. So, um, Eva is with wealth.com, uh, and I'm gonna have her explain exactly what wealth.com is and how it works here in a second.

Um, but we, as, as Medcalf [00:01:45] partners, so have recently as. Become a partner of wealth.com for our clients, which is an estate planning tool, uh, that we're gonna go through a little bit today and tell you a little bit about what it is. Um, and we're really excited, number one, even to have you on the podcast. [00:02:00] Uh, and number two, to have a partnership with wealth.com.

And with that maybe you can kind of explain exactly what wealth.com is and how our clients can start to use it.

Eva Deniz: Yeah, no, I'm super excited to be here, so thank you for having me. Um, I am [00:02:15] with wealth.com, like Jeb shared. Um, and wealth wealth.com is the most comprehensive estate planning solution specifically for advisors.

So, um, giving advisors away to not only facilitate the estate planning conversation, but getting a client from [00:02:30] point A to point B. I think sometimes we really delay the estate planning piece. There's a little bit of a stigma as far as, oh, I have to accumulate enough wealth to really warrant going to go meet with an attorney.

Um, and when you think about it, an estate plan is truly the bookend [00:02:45] to a good financial plan. But sometimes advisors getting that client, you know, across the finish line meeting with the attorney, it's, you know, there's a link breakage there. And so that's why we. Po positioned wealth.com specifically for advisors, um, to not only get [00:03:00] their clients in state specific estate plans, so revocable trust, wills, medical directives, powers of attorney, but then also, uh, being able to give them visualizations to really be able to sit down with you as the client and explain what is the meaning of irrevocable trust?

[00:03:15] How does it work? What is a poor over will? What does my agent of my medical directive mean? And really bring estate planning into tangible terms that you can understand it, and then under really understand the legacy that you're putting in place for your life. [00:03:30]

Jeb Graham: Awesome. Well, very good. So. With wealth.com.

Okay, so number one, that's, we deal with that all the time with clients is, and I think you hit the nail on the head there, is everybody wants an estate plan. Nobody wants to go get an estate plan, [00:03:45] right? Or go through the process of doing that because it is a. In my opinion, a little bit of a painful process.

It's multiple meetings, it's expensive. Um, so maybe we can talk a little bit about the differentiation of going to an attorney for an estate [00:04:00] plan and then using wealth.com and, and why that's easier, I guess.

Eva Deniz: Yeah. Yeah, I think sometimes, you know when you're going to go meet with that attorney, it might be a newer relationship.

Your advisor has referred you out. So that's kind of, you know, [00:04:15] number one, it kind of breaks up the relationship a little bit. Nobody wants to kind of start from square one, do all the fact finding with the attorney, and then we don't know if we're being billed for it, or how much is this going to cost, how long is this going to take?

And then if you think about it too, estate planning is very emotional. Nobody [00:04:30] wants to think about death. Nobody wants to think about who, you know, the guardian for their kids is going to be. And so there's a big deterrent there. And then also, you know, most of us feel like, oh, death is so far off. Like we don't have to worry about this.

Um, you know, right now. [00:04:45] Mm-hmm. Um, and when you think about it, medical directives, powers of attorney, those go into play upon incapacitation, so before death. Um, and so the advantage of your advisor utilizing wealth.com, having a strategic partnership with wealth.com. Means that you can [00:05:00] come into his office or her office.

Um, or you have the ability to get an estate plan in place, you know, at home, in the office, um, from your personal computer. It takes about 40 minutes to get a trust in place, about 30 [00:05:15] minutes to draft a will, and then about five to six minutes to get a medical directive in, in place there, and then again paired with the visualizations.

I think sometimes when you're meeting with that attorney, you're telling the attorney, Hey, here's what I wanna achieve. Here's my life, my family, the. [00:05:30] Familial relationships. The attorney is drafting something, uh, getting it back to you, and then we don't know what's in it. We're never gonna read it. And so the visualizations that the advisor that your advisor can really walk you through is very powerful as far as, okay, I have an [00:05:45] estate plan in place, but now I can conceptualize what it actually means.

Um, and then Jeb, I, I didn't mention earlier, but the other advantage with wealth.com is the nature of wealth.com gives you the ability to not only get state specific customized [00:06:00] documents in place. But then also offers unlimited updates and restatements as well. So now you have that advantage with your advisor, uh, to truly ensure that year over year your estate plan mirrors your life.

And that's something that would cost thousands [00:06:15] with an attorney. Mm-hmm. Um, so really, you know, not breaking up the relationship is kind of huge, um, and a good starting point. Um, and as the, as you know. You as advisors, you guys are uniquely positioned. You know a lot about your clients, the [00:06:30] familial relationship.

They trust you. Um, so yeah,

Ethan Hutcheson: you now we, you've talked about establishing all those documents. We get a lot of clients that might already have a will in place or a trust that's drafted in 2019, [00:06:45] 2015. Can you talk about the services that wealth.com provides for those? Particular clients? Can we upload their existing documents and edit payments?

How does all that kind of work?

Eva Deniz: It's a great question. So, um, if you remember, I said in the very [00:07:00] beginning that wealth.com is the most comprehensive solution for advisors. And what I mean by that is we know that your book of business is not homogenous. You're working with clients really all really. All over the spectrum of, of wealth.

And so we wanna give you all the tools within our [00:07:15] ecosystem to really meet your clients where they're at, across the continuum of estate planning. And so, yes, you do have a large segment of your book of business that already has existing estate documents in place. And I always like to go back to, um, the latest celebrity death that made a big splash in the media this [00:07:30] year was Jean Hackman.

Gene had an estate plan in place like Gold Star, great job Gene. But little did he know that when he passed away, that everybody that held the role of a decision maker, successor trustee, executor for the poor over will, they were all dead. And so it has [00:07:45] opened up his large estate to, um, litigation, probate, family feuding.

His assets are tied up and it begs the question, whose responsibility was that to really ensure that his estate plan truly mirrored his life? Was it his attorney's? Well then he would've, you know, he would [00:08:00] need to have an attorney on a retainer. But on the flip side, was it his financial advisor? What was that financial advisor supposed to do?

Read through 150 pages and then plug and play in a PowerPoint? No, it's not a great use of your time. And so what we've given you@wealth.com is our [00:08:15] AI extractor tool. So this is our pro proprietary model. We call her Esther. I don't know why they didn't call her Eva. Be great. Have like a face with a name there.

But our extractor tool allows your advisor, so the advisor to upload an existing estate plan, whether it [00:08:30] be something basic like a will or something nuanced like anit, a slat, agra, and then within a matter of two to three minutes, it's going to build a beautiful visualization that then the advisor can move into the conversation with that client as far as demystifying this existing estate [00:08:45] structure moving into optimization conversation.

Conversations going forward, um, being able to say, Hey, this document was created in the state of Texas. Now you live in Maine. We should restate this document under the Maine State Laws. Um, different things like that. I always like to [00:09:00] joke around. I have to know my audience though, that attorneys are gonna do chicken scratch on a post-it note, maybe the day the client signed.

And that's it. Um, and so it's really valuable for you to be able to just simply demystify that existing estate plan. Make sure that, you know, [00:09:15] the client understands the roles and the responsibilities of these people playing success or trustee, if that individual is really up for that role, if they understand that.

And so it's a huge value add. And I always like to say with, with advisors, the extraction tool is something that you could [00:09:30] implement today. Like immediately right outta the gate. If you're leveraging wealth.com, that's something within the next hour you'd be able to really provide and add a lot of value to your clients just by simply illustrating that flow chart.[00:09:45]

Eric Wymore: I used Esther actually from my personal one and sent it in there and realized there's a couple of updates that I wanted to make, um, from, from, you know, 12 years ago when we actually got our stuff put in place. It spits it out in a nice graph and a nice, you know, one [00:10:00] page. Document that I can take a look at and realize, oh, this is, this is what's gonna happen if I passed away.

And so,

Eva Deniz: and I think that there's a little bit of a notion that, you know, okay, if you're referring me out to an attorney, in my mind, um, that's gonna [00:10:15] cost a couple thousand dollars. So in my mind, this is a one and done. You know what I mean? Like, I've gotta have. All the answers, these people are gonna hold these roles indefinitely because I'm not gonna go meet with that attorney again and pay another, you know, X amount of dollars to get [00:10:30] this updated.

And so historically, attorneys would build so many different contingencies into a document, knowing this client's probably never going to update this again. So we have to have contingency after contingency, and then that makes the trust or the will very convoluted. Nobody [00:10:45] knows what's in it at all. And so, Eric, to your point, I mean.

Historically speaking clients, you know, yeah. Would absolutely not know. And so now with the visualizations, I mean, it really breaks it down into layman's terms. I always joke around that my 10-year-old could tell [00:11:00] you what's going on within a trust, just with the pictures it itself. And that's a great tool for you as the advisor, you know, because not all advisors are attorneys by trade.

And so we're not, you know, asking you to play the role of an attorney. Just use those visualizations to [00:11:15] really kind of talk through things. Does this make sense? This still the right person to be the guardian for your kids. They understand these roles. Huge value. Especially because clients aren't expecting that from an attorney unless they're paying for it.

Jeb Graham: Right? Well, so, so if we have a [00:11:30] client, you know, when we think about our clients starting to use the program, number one, are there any roadblocks that they run into that are common roadblocks that you can think of? And then also what, what if they get to a point where they do want expert counsel, right? So they're going through and they're [00:11:45] trying, they're going through the trust and they're answering questions.

Themselves, but then they get to the point where they actually wanna talk to an attorney or they feel like they should talk to an attorney. Is there a solution for that inside of it as well?

Eva Deniz: Yeah. I'll answer the first, um, question. So I think sometimes we see. [00:12:00] A roadblock, uh, maybe when the advisor is just sending that invitation to the client and they really haven't had any kind of discovery con conversation first, again, estate planning is emotional, so if you as my advisor, you're sending me an invitation to wealth.com to create my [00:12:15] client account to start drafting.

But we've had no conversation around, um, any kind of, you know, estate planning piece. I haven't thought about who in the world. Are gonna be these decision makers, do I have any specific gifts? That's where applying can kind of stall out [00:12:30] because boom, they're drafting in the document wizard and then all of a sudden they're overwhelmed and they don't wanna think about this.

And again, death. Nobody wants to think about it. So we see a best practice as far as advisors leveraging deliverables that we give you, like a pre-meeting worksheet, an estate planning checklist, [00:12:45] to really get the client's mind thinking, okay, who are the right people to play these roles? Do I have any specific gifts that, you know, I want to, uh, pass on to my kids?

And then that makes it a very intuitive experience once the client [00:13:00] begins the drafting experience, that pre-meeting worksheet. Really details out a lot of questions that they're gonna see in the document wizard. So it's familiar. It's less, you know, Ugh, I don't wanna do this. Mm-hmm. Um, and then Jeb, your follow up question was, uh, if [00:13:15] they, if the client does ever have that legal, um, want that legal direction?

Um, so we've built out the document wizards to be very, very intuitive. Um, legal, branching, logic, scenario based questions. We've really tried to remove a lot of the [00:13:30] legalese. Um, and so that the client truly understands what does this mean? Why am I being asked this? Um, but then we do have a nationwide network of attorneys.

So if a client ever does wanna meet with an attorney, maybe just to review the document before they sign, maybe they do have, you know, [00:13:45] some specific legal questions. Um, they can meet with counsel in their state. So. Um, we have counsel in all 50 states, including DC. Now, these attorneys are not employees of wealth, but they're contracted and vetted to and e attorneys that have been [00:14:00] practicing for a minimum of 15 years, and they've gone through a rigorous vetting process to be a part of our network.

Uh, but we offer this to clients if they ever wanted a consultation, it's for the pre-negotiated rate of $240 spray, 30 minute consultation. But then [00:14:15] also our attorney network will support with deed services too. Mm-hmm. So if the client has executed that trust, boom, they can work with counsel in their, in their, in their state to move that property over into the name of the trust.

Um, you have it done by an attorney, it's done correctly. Um. So, [00:14:30] yeah,

Jeb Graham: so that's nice. So, so they actually have the ability to, to speak to an attorney if they need to. Absolutely. And like when you think about that from an overall cost to one of our clients, like if, I know if we send them to an attorney, which we have a couple that we love and we use here, and we'll [00:14:45] continue to use them in many, many circumstances, if we send 'em there and you do a trust, you're probably in on the hook for somewhere between five, around $5,000.

And I think, you know, if you think about this, if you've got. Pay $2,000 for your trust and [00:15:00] you need an hour of legal counsel during it, you're still at about half of the cost. You know Exactly. Going to an attorney at that point in time, so,

Eva Deniz: exactly, and what you have to offer your clients is more than just what the market comparison is because what you [00:15:15] have the ability to offer.

To your clients is not only getting documents in place. So I live here in Dallas, so if I were to meet with an attorney to draft a revocable trust here in Dallas, it would cost me around $3,500.

Voiceover: Mm-hmm. Now, if I were

Eva Deniz: to a baby in nine months, the smart thing to do would [00:15:30] be to do an amendment to that trust, add that child in by name with a Dallas attorney.

It would cost me around $1,500 to do that small change. If I were to move from Texas to Arizona, for example, the smart thing to do would be restate that trust under the now [00:15:45] Arizona State laws. And that would cost me anywhere from 23 to $2,700. Mm-hmm. So, already working with an attorney to really have my document to mirror my life, be optimized to my life.

I'm walking up close to almost 10 grand. Or on the flip side, you as my [00:16:00] advisor might be charging me, you know, a flat rate fee, you might add it to my planning fee. But then what I'm getting is not only the ability to get the documents in place, but if I have a baby in nine months, if I move states, if I get in a fight with my sister who's the guardian of my kids, I can kick her out and put [00:16:15] somebody else back in.

And I say that jokingly, but that's what people are really, you know, it's that ums. That freeze, kind of like, oh no, like I'm making this decision and I'm married to it forever. And it's like, no. Um, and then plus, with the visualizations that you're [00:16:30] providing me, it's this, you know, huge value. And it's, it's really hard to compare it to what the, uh, the market rate would be with the attorney because you're providing so much more than an attorney ever.

Would

Jeb Graham: either one of you guys have any other questions?

Ethan Hutcheson: [00:16:45] No, I just, oh, comment. I love, I love the idea of, of speaking with counsel, uh, for the, for the predated rate. I know when, when you read through a will or a trust, the legal jargon inside of that is very complex and, and part of me understand. So having that, [00:17:00] that safeguard there to, Hey, just walk me through this one more time.

I got a couple questions on some of this language in there. It's, it's extremely beneficial and valuable. So that's some great, great, great add on.

Eva Deniz: Totally. And that, I mean, Jeb, you kind of shared it, like even that consultation rate. I mean, you don't [00:17:15] find consultation rates for $240. Mm-hmm. Um, there's sometimes north of 400 to 500.

Um, and it's, it's great too. I mean, we've, there's layers and layers of resources. We really, really pride ourselves here@wealth.com on the people behind the product, [00:17:30] the layers of resources that we give to not only advisors, but then clients. We have a wealth member care team. I like to refer to this team as our SEC secret sauce.

Um, but they're our US based team. Um. They are not attorneys, but they're well versed in estate [00:17:45] planning and they're also trained to hear is the client looking for legal advice or are they just looking for education navigation? How do I achieve something in the platform? Um, and they are fantastic that sometimes we don't see our attorney network leverage that much for [00:18:00] consultations.

We see the network leverage for deed services. Uh. For the most part.

Disclaimer: Mm-hmm. Um, but

Eva Deniz: I think that that really speaks to how intuitive the platform is. But then also our wealth member care team, they offer a very proactive approach. They'll oftentimes hop on a Zoom [00:18:15] call, really work with your client. It's very white glove, um, and elevated there.

And so that's great too. But then if that client does wanna move forward and meet with counsel, they can do so. And it's a very seamless, um. Experience [00:18:30] and process you get there. So,

Jeb Graham: so if they were gonna deed their house to their trust, uh, can they do that within a half, half hour consultation? I would assume

Eva Deniz: so.

It's a good question. So, um, the two services that we provide with our attorney network is the consultation, which is [00:18:45] the pre-negotiated rate, $240, it's 30 minutes. Um, now if they wanted to, um, uh, do a deed transfer, this is a flat rate fee per state, so this would not be the $240, it would be a flat rate fee per state.

So it varies state over state. [00:19:00] Since I'm in Texas, I know it off the top of my head, it's $350. That includes the notary fee, includes the recording fee. Counsel will file it with the county, get it back to your client. Um, and so that would be separate there.

Jeb Graham: Well, very good. Well, we're super pumped [00:19:15] up about, uh, team I'm excited teaming up with, with uh, wealth.com and this is kind of gonna be kind of the first time we've brought it to our clients to kind let 'em know what it is.

So. We're excited to get this podcast produced and out so that we can start having these [00:19:30] conversations, uh, and, and hopefully saving some people money on estate planning and, and more, more than that, just making sure that all of our clients have an estate plan. I feel like that's a big, uh, you know, when you meet a client, it seems like the whole process can take.[00:19:45]

Up to a couple years between when, because the fir, when you first meet 'em, you're just moving over accounts and you're talking and there's so many things to talk about and the process can take a while and then they go to an attorney and do that. And so I think this is gonna expedite that process. And because [00:20:00] honestly, when we're working with a client, there's pretty much nothing more important than the, than whether they have their estate plan in order.

Uh, but it, it seems to not be the first thing we talk about a lot of times, and that's just kind of the progression of the relationship. So, um, but yeah, we're super [00:20:15] excited about it and we're really appreciate either you coming on to the podcast to talk about this and, and bring the information to our client base.

So.

Eva Deniz: Of course. Thank you so much for having me. It's been so great and I'm really excited to see the success that you guys, the success and the [00:20:30] value that you're about to add to your entire book.

Jeb Graham: Awesome. Well, we're excited. So thank you very much. This is Metcalf Money Moment podcast. Sign it off.

Voiceover: Thanks for tuning in to Metcalf [00:20:45] Money Moment, the podcast. We hope today's episode provided valuable insights to help you unlock financial clarity, confidence, and peace of mind. For more expert advice and resources, visit metcalf partners.com. Until next time, make [00:21:00] every money moment count.

Disclaimer: Jeb Graham, Ethan Hutchinson and Eric Wymore are registered representatives with and securities offered through LPL Financial Member FINRA SI PC Investment advice offered through WCG Wealth Advisors, a registered [00:21:15] investment advisor, WCG Wealth Advisors and Metcalf Partners. Wealth Management is AR separate entity entities from LPL Financial.

The opinions voiced in this podcast are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual to determine which strategies or investments may be suitable for you. Consult the appropriate qualified professional prior [00:21:30] to making a decision.

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