Estate planning and administration in New York in 2023 is hardly changed from the way it worked back in ‘Old York’ (York, England) – in 1623.
The overwhelming focus is on “getting to the documents” which, once completed, sit in a drawer or on a server collecting dust.
By 2030, estate planning will be radically different – just not in the way most people expect.
Where We Are Today
In the past five years, a number of startups emerged (Just In Case Estates among them) to modernize the centuries-old estate planning industry. Armed with sleek UIs and sophisticated backend document generation engines, these startups made it possible to craft a customized, legally valid last will or revocable living trust in a matter of minutes and at a fraction of the cost of attorney-prepared plans.
The current ‘common sense’ push among the estate planning startups is to enhance the connectedness of estate assets and streamline the estate administration process. Both are welcome developments that will make estate planning less painful, more affordable, and grow the online share of the estate planning market. But the future of estate planning is not just about making it suck less or capturing a bigger slice of the pie.
Where We Are Going
Estate Planning in 2030 takes as its first aim not document creation, document management, or even smoother estate administration. It does all those, to be sure, but it’s much more than that. Estate Planning in 2030 is a human experience that centers on creating, preserving, and sharing your legacy in the biological and the digital world.
Estate Planning in 2030 is a human experience that centers on creating, preserving, and sharing your legacy in the biological and the digital world.
In a 2019 survey, Merrill Lynch asked soon-to-be retirees, “What do you most want to be remembered for?” Overwhelmingly and across all income brackets, they answered that they want to be remembered for the memories and values that they’ve shared with loved ones.
Estate planning incumbents have failed to deliver on this need, treating “clients” more as a mechanism to transfer assets than actual people.
We started JIC Estates to change that. To make estate planning a human centered experience.
Through the launch of “Beyond the Docs,” we aim to bring you on that journey as we explore the key questions and insights that will make estate planning an industry of the future and not one stuck in the past.
Thank you for joining us on our mission.
- Luke
