Top Areas of Focus - based on Client Needs

One of the great things about belonging to an organization like WealthCounsel (http://www.wealthcounsel.com/) is that they regularly do industry surveys.
I mentioned in an earlier posting that WealthCounsel did their  Third Annual WealthCounsel Survey of Attorneys in Estate Planning.  I promised to share some of the more relevant nuggets with my readers. Here is another nugget...
Attorneys were asked what areas they were seeing as the highest growth areas for their clients over the next five years. Based on feedback from their clients and the increase in demand, here is a listing of the top areas most estate planning attorneys will most likely be focusing on in the next five years:

1. Business Entity Planning for Estate Planning Purposes
2. Beneficiary Inheritance Asset Protection Planning
3. Elder Law Planning
4. Post Mortem Administration
5. Business Succession Planning
6. Lifetime Planning
7. Tax Avoidance Strategies

Notice any patterns?  First, they are indicative of the aging population we will all be experiencing and facing.  Second, there is a lot of "planning" needing to take place.  Third, there are more "business" related issues than in the past.  Finally, and always on the list, how to I get to keep more of what I have and not pay as many taxes.

I'm seeing a very similar pattern in our geography as well and our clients are facing many of the same issues.  I guess the survey was pretty accurate.

Even though these are the trends, I still focus my practice on working with those families like mine that have younger children, which is the second item on the list.   I have found that these families are not being served as well as they could by the estate planning community.