8 common estate planning mistakes and how CTT Legacy estate planning software helps prevent them

As the Roman philosopher Seneca pointed out over 2,000 years ago: “Errare humanum est” - ‘to err is human’ and centuries later, this epitaph still holds true. Everyone makes mistakes – at work and in their home lives – but while personal mistakes are often easy to rectify, dropping the ball professionally can be catastrophic. A career where a high level of accuracy and attention to detail is essential, is estate planning.

Estate planning mistakes: the problem

Mistakes, omissions, and miscommunications when drafting a client’s estate plan cause a variety of headaches – for both you and your client. The consequences range in severity from a clerical inconvenience that slows proceedings down to a full-blown legal suit and contestations that costs your client (and their loved ones) thousands.

On top of the issues drafting mistakes cause your clients, there’s the stress and extra workload they cause for you; not to mention the damage to your reputation as an adviser when poor reviews reach the internet.

Training and experience are, of course, essential for minimising mistakes when handling clients' estates. However, the very nature of estate planning means there are always going to be new challenges and legislative changes that trip up even the most seasoned advisers without the right tools in place.

Estate planning mistakes: the solution

While Seneca’s damning summation of humankind still poses a problem, advancements in technology are now tipping the balance more in our favour as professional advisers. Could estate planning mistakes and drafting errors soon be a thing of the past?

CTT Legacy Software has been at the forefront of digital estate planning solutions since its inception in 2015. Over the last decade, CTT’s software development team have been honing CTT Legacy’s features based on feedback from the group’s estate planning members and experts, continually ensuring it keeps up with the demands of the modern adviser.

Along with its efficient and user-friendly operating system, CTT Legacy has been built with accuracy and compliance at its heart. And while ‘errare humanus est’, CTT Legacy is designed to support users at every step of the process to ensure common mistakes don’t creep into your planning.

Read on to discover how CTT Legacy’s intuitive estate planning software helps you deliver accurate advice and compliant drafting for your clients every time.

1. No more missing client info!

The fact-finding process is one of the most tedious aspects of planning a client's estate. You don’t know what assets they have – and quite often, neither does your client. Aside from being time-consuming and frustrating, an inaccurate or incomplete fact find will result in a flawed estate plan where assets are unaccounted for, the estate is undervalued, and vital tax relief opportunities are missed.

CTT Legacy addresses this issue at the source. With its compatible client-facing app, Legacy Portal, clients input their own fact-find information, remotely, and in their own time, so you receive all the client’s details ahead of your first meeting.

The app’s step-by-step digital journey takes clients through every stage of the fact-find process, from sharing their family dynamics to totalling the value of their estate. With this information up front, you can begin working on a comprehensive estate plan from the start that accurately accounts for your client’s assets and their individual circumstances.

2. Avoid the pitfalls of complex family dynamics!

More and more often, modern families don’t align with traditional estate planning solutions. That's because the notion of ‘family’ has outgrown them to encompass a wide and varied mix of relations and relationships.

With the rise in divorce, second marriages, blended families, civil partnerships, and adoption, there’s a complex landscape to navigate when it comes to creating estate plans for the modern family.

This causes all kinds of complications for advisers when trying to come up with the best, most tax-efficient solutions for a client’s estate. Not only do you have to have a thorough grasp of the client's family dynamic – and everyone in it, but you also need an in-depth understanding of the most suitable products to fit any number of different circumstances.

This is where CTT Legacy has your back. Its intuitive drafting templates and adviser prompts ensure you never miss an opportunity to clarify your client's situation. On top of that, CTT Legacy suggests up-to-date compliant clauses to include in your drafting that tailor your planning to fit your client’s needs, no matter how unique their family situation.

3. Always up to date with current legislation!

Just when you think you’ve got to grips with a specific requirement or process, something comes along that means you’ve got more hoops to jump through. It’s the nature of estate planning – and one of the things that keeps it interesting – but revising current legislation to ensure you’re up to date is still a headache most of us could do without. The penance for falling behind, however, is too horrifying to think about.

CTT Legacy is equipped with over 100 legal products and services, including document templates which are all ‘live’ and regularly updated to ensure they comply with only the latest legislation. By using CTT Legacy, not only can you be confident all your drafting is current and compliant, but you can also relax knowing the phrasing of your clauses is clear and impervious to contestation.

4. Be prepared for a Larke V Nugus!

It’s every adviser’s nightmare – and hopefully one you won’t ever have to deal with. The reality is, though, that you always need to protect yourself – and your client – in case you are ever called upon to serve up a full client history in response to a Larke V Nugus request.

To make this process easier, CTT Legacy estate planning software produces a Will Clarity Statement at the same time as your client drafting. This document not only covers all Larke v Nugus questions but also includes extra details, like why certain beneficiaries were included or left out. Since it’s signed by the client, it acts as a safeguard for you and is testament that you’ve followed best practice when drafting.

5. Execute exemplary execution!

Another tricky area for advisers is the execution stage, where challenges can arise around the signing of the will (Marley V Rawlings, anybody?!).

To help with this, CTT Legacy also provides an Execution Statement, which records key details about the signing process. Both the Will Clarity Statement and Execution Statement are designed to protect not just you but also your client and their wishes.

They demonstrate due diligence in every instance of drafting for your clients, no matter the size of the estate, and that the intended beneficiaries receive what was meant for them—even if the will is later challenged.

These documents are also crucial if a will is ever contested on the grounds of coercion, providing an extra layer of protection for both you and your client.

6. Put an end to poor client communications!

Missed emails, misunderstood messages, crossed wires, and complex legal jargon all contribute to the challenges we face when trying to communicate with clients. The trouble is that any misunderstandings on the part of the client are inevitably laid at your feet for failing to explain options or products adequately.

This leads to client mistrust and, equally concerning, could land you in breach of the recent Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) guidelines for unregulated providers that stress the need for clients to have all the information required to make informed decisions.

The guidelines highlight the importance of avoiding legal jargon and ensuring transparency: businesses must not mislead consumers by using unclear language about their services.

To help mitigate the risks of client misunderstandings, CTT Legacy allows you to produce digital Recommendation Reports for your clients. Delivered with personalised animations via Legacy Portal, these educational videos meet CMA requirements by clearly explaining estate planning products in a simple, jargon-free way.

The Recommendation Report then outlines the best options for each client’s assets and concerns, ensuring they can confidently make informed decisions, and you have fulfilled your due diligence to your clients.

7. Never lose another document!

From sorting through piles of files to sending valuable documents through the post for signing, the need to keep track of every scrap of paper relating to every client case is a significant issue – one that also leaves massive room for error. Have you ever lost a client’s documents? Or sent an important file through the post that’s gone AWOL?

Aside from looking unprofessional, the data protection and privacy issues surrounding sensitive legal documents means misplacing them is more than a simple inconvenience.

Thankfully, the days of pen and parchment are coming to an end. With CTT Legacy Software, you can adopt a fully digitised practice; this includes the secure storage and transfer of valuable client documents.

All client documents drafted and stored in CTT Legacy are not only safe from loss, theft, and damage, they can also be searched for on the system, so you can put your hands on the exact piece of client paperwork whenever you need it.

CTT Legacy also offers a secure client messaging feature that allows you to transfer sensitive legal documents safely between yourself and your client. These documents can even be signed digitally, so you never have to worry about mislaying vital pieces of paper again!

Not only that, Legacy Portal allows your clients to digitally store and review their own legal documents with relevant people, giving them and their families greater peace of mind.

8. Avoid estate planning mistakes that cost you money!

This last error is one many advisers make without even realising it, and it’s one that may affect you even more than your clients.

Failing to identify opportunities to offer your clients additional products and services, such as LPAs and Trusts that improve their protection and increase the value of your sale, is a mistake few of us can afford to make.

Providing a comprehensive client service is paramount – but so is ensuring your business is maximising its potential revenue!

CTT Legacy is equipped with in-software prompts that highlight opportunities during the drafting process where you can upsell appropriate products to your clients.

In addition to this helpful feature, CTT Legacy also supports and facilitates future business by ensuring you keep in touch with current clients with reminders about updating their will, and a referral process, that allows your clients to recommend your services to friends and family.

The takeaway

Estate planning mistakes are stressful, costly, and potentially damaging to your reputation.

From simple mistakes like missing client details and miscommunications to massive errors that can lead to legal challenges, delays, and financial losses, CTT Legacy estate planning software provides a comprehensive solution.

Its intuitive drafting, client facing app, and in-software prompts eliminate common pitfalls before they occur, protecting you from legal disputes while enhancing client communication and identifying opportunities to boost your revenue.

By integrating CTT Legacy into your practice, you can reduce risk, improve efficiency, and provide clients with a seamless, transparent, fully compliant service.

Curious? Book your demo here to see how CTT Legacy supports compliance, boosts revenue, and helps you avoid common estate planning mistakes.