If you ask around, you'll find that most millennials think they're going to get an inheritance even though very few will. A lot of that comes down to communication between the estate holder and the attorneys they work with. When you use trust software for attorneys, both estate holders and heirs have a clearer understanding of what they can expect when the trust is released.
Here are five ways that trust software helps clients and keeps them in the loop.
1. Make Separate Trusts Easily
When you're dealing with a large estate, there are a lot of assets to manage. Those assets might all go into one trust or they might go into separate trusts. When you're dealing with a large family, managing trust becomes quickly complicated.
The best clients have the most complicated trusts. If you want to keep them happy, you need to be flexible and be able to manage the complexity of their needs. When you have the right trust software, you get the chance to balance everything without headaches.
As families grow, grandchildren and distant relatives might need to have a new trust created on their behalf. If it's meant to look just like other trusts, the software allows you to create duplicates and change the important details.
If your client is still working on building their wealth, there might be important changes to their trust. People move their assets around all the time while building for their future. If this is the case, clients need you to be able to help them adapt their trust accordingly.
2. Keep Track of Documents
If you're running a modern office, you're going to be going paperless whenever possible. However, most government and regulatory offices are still behind the times. You need to have a mix of digital and paper forms around.
In the near future, you'll be able to go completely digital, meaning that you'll need software to track everything. With the right software, you can track files, organize them, and print them out. The right trust software allows you to manage an estate at the click of a button.
Documents might need to be sent to a bank or a financial institution ASAP. As much as you love your clients, they're often demanding and ask for things at the last minute. With trust software for estate attorneys, you get the chance to send the paperwork that someone needs all the way across the country in seconds.
You need to keep track of documents in case there are any legal disputes in an estate. While we all like to think we'll conduct ourselves with civility in the event of the death of a loved one, emotions run high and people can become disrespectful.
When you have control over your clients' documents, you can keep them out of legal trouble, building lifelong loyalty.
3. Give Access To Clients
As any attorney knows, fielding frantic phone calls from worried clients on nights and weekends is a fact of life. No matter how well you do to eliminate their fears and to help serve them the best you can, your clients get worried about the strangest things. They might have just gotten off the phone with you and completely forgotten what they requested.
When this is the case, you can simply allow them to view their own documents online. With the best trust software for attorneys, you get the ability to create accounts or access levels for clients to view their software. Since you don't want changes made without your approval, you get the chance to set limits to control what clients do or don't see.
Clients need to have access 24/7 so that they can adjust their own economic goals or inform their family of what they're planning. As people age, they might work with assistants or aides to help make organize their trusts. Rather than having to remember everything or write anything down, that information could be forwarded to relevant parties.
You never know when your client is going to want access to their trust or why. Some people shoot up out of bed late at night looking for a quick answer to something and you need to allow them to do that. It takes the responsibility off of your shoulders and makes them feel empowered.
4. Make Changes As Needed
When you have finicky clients, drafting new forms, making changes, and getting them confirmed is a slow process. If there's a need to have something notarized or to change a document before sending it to a bank, trust software makes it simple.
When your client comes to your office, you can make changes right before their eyes. They'll be able to see the results in a material way, looking over your shoulder, before they approve anything.
Changes in real time allow your clients to know that you understand them. If there are changes that won't benefit them, you can let them know ASAP before the gears start grinding.
5. Follow Regulations
Every state has a complex set of regulations controlling estates and estate taxes. When building a trust, it's difficult to keep track of them all. However, since you'll likely be dealing with clients in just a handful of states, you can make stock forms for each state.
Staying on top of regulations ensures that everything you clients ask for is above board. If they're looking to do something that's illegal or unconventional, your forms will set the boundaries so that they'll understand. By following your forms step by step, you can explain legal boundaries in a way they'll understand.
Trust Software For Attorneys Streamlines Everything
If you're looking to find trust software for attorneys that makes life easier, you need to know what elements to look for and how the software works. If you're new to trust software, do some research before you buy any of the options out there.
Check out our beginners guide to using estate planning software before you make a major investment.
