Partner Spotlight
Carmen Rosas Law, APC
We asked our partner Carmen Rosas to provide her perspective on offering Legacy Logix to her Estate planning clients. Carmen is the founder and managing attorney at Carmen Rosas Law, APC in Silicon Valley. She went into Estate planning early in her career, when her grandmother passed away and her family discovered there were problems with her do-it-yourself Estate plan. They ended up in court, taking a year to settle her Estate. From that experience, she made it her mission to educate and inform families on proper planning. Her firm specializes in helping women protect their families, wealth, and peace of mind.
How do you view the problem of people neglecting to keep their Estate plans up to date?
The three biggest challenges clients face when establishing and managing their trusts are time, funding, and organization.
Clients generally don’t understand their trust, and don’t want to think about it. Everyone is busy and life happens, so finding the time to meet with an attorney and think about their wishes feels overwhelming. Clients feel that once they sign their documents, that’s it, they’re done. And, when it comes to organization- it’s often challenging for clients to get all the details in one place.
“Clients feel that once they sign their documents, that’s it, they’re done.”
Why is this such a problem for law firms?
When Estate plans aren’t updated and assets aren’t actually transferred, it opens up the potential for a probate petition, even if it isn’t a full probate.
And when the trustees find out that the Estate isn’t all in order, they get upset because they feel like they didn’t understand, and that it was the law firm’s responsibility to explain that things needed to be updated and kept up to date. Even though attorneys remind their clients to reach out when life events happen, they buy property or have questions.
“Trustees get upset because they feel like they didn’t understand, and feel it was the law firm’s responsibility.”
How does Legacy Logix help?
I feel Legacy Logix simplifies my life. It helps my clients. It’s a gap filler for the marketplace.
So many of clients have trouble getting organized. We provide our clients a nice, neat portfolio with their Estate planning documents and instruct them to include their passwords and other important information. But with technology the way it is, everyone wants digital copies. Legacy Logix keeps everything organized in one safe and secure place. This will make the administration for everyone else so much easier.
“Legacy Logix simplifies my life. It helps my clients. It’s a gap filler for the marketplace.”
Favorite features?
In particular, one of the things that’s great about Legacy Logix is the automated alerts. They remind clients they need to get their stuff updated and make sure they’re regularly reviewing it. The automated alerts come through and it saves my assistant having to send an email or call to follow up. Of course, we still have touch points, but it helps to ensure that things don’t fall through the cracks or get lost.
And once the client is set up with Legacy Logix, assets are all uploaded and organized, and they can give access to the people that will need the documents when necessary.
“Automated alerts help ensure that things don’t fall through the cracks or get lost.”
How will this impact the way you engage with clients over the years?
Legacy Logix allows me to have more touchpoints where we can automate. Plus, our clients will reach out to us more. It helps to prevent situations where a client hasn’t reached out in twenty years, or the client has passed, or they don’t own the assets anymore. Legacy Logix will make it easier for us to make sure our clients’ trusts are updated so that when they need them it’s all current.
“Legacy Logix allows me to have more touchpoints where we can automate. Plus, our clients will reach out to us more.”
What recommendations would you give your clients to help them ensure their plans are always healthy?
I always tell my clients that Estate planning is not about them but about they people they’ll leave behind and the things they have to coordinate after - so do your best. If they’re ever unsure, I remind them reach out to me or a trusted financial advisor rather than trying to Google it or wing it. Get a solution like Legacy Logix because it will help them get and stay organized.
“Get a solution like Legacy Logix, because it will help them get and stay organized.”