Forrest’s 20 years of advisor relationships

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"I'm proud of the fact that I have some generational clients and I could say, 'I remember when I worked with your grandmother 20 years ago.'" — Forrest Millheim, Independent Financial Advisor, Ogden, Utah

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How Utah financial advisors are using Estate Guru for estate planning

Forrest wanted to offer estate planning to his aging clients, but referring them to attorneys meant potentially losing the client relationship. Estate Guru lets him lead clients through the process, without crossing the UPL line, while an attorney handles the legal work.

What Estate Guru offers financial advisors

• No UPL line to cross. Our attorney-led platform with access to network attorneys handles the legal work, so advisors lead the estate planning process with confidence.
• Stronger, deeper relationships across generations. Estate planning conversations with clients open doors to their adult children.
• AUM growth and revenue opportunity. Estate planning surfaces assets to fund into trusts and leads to additional financial business.

See how Estate Guru helped Forrest here

About Forrest Millheim

When Forrest inherited a book of business from a retiring advisor, he didn't see it just as a business opportunity. He saw it as a way to cultivate relationships. Each name and number carried the meaning of real people’s lives, with needs and worries that deserve attention. 

From his independent practice in Ogden, Utah, he has spent over 20 years showing up for roughly 350 households. His time and trust cultivated generational clientele. 

When they need something done, they don't Google it. They call Forrest.

Estate planning, a relationship-rooted business

Forrest has watched his clients get older. Not as a demographic shift or a portfolio consideration, but aging with his growing business. People he has known for decades. And as he listened to them talk about retirement plans and financial goals, he started hearing something else underneath it. They started discussing what happens to all the things they’ve spent a lifetime building in the future. They just didn't have the language for it yet; that’s what they need Forrest’s expertise for. 

"As they've aged more, we're starting to have these conversations more about wills and trusts and probate." — Forrest, Independent Financial Advisor, Ogden, Utah

Most advisors hear those conversations and send their clients to an attorney’s office. Forrest’s clients weren’t happy with the service they were receiving elsewhere; he heard them and went looking for an estate planning solution he could offer them.

How does listening to clients help financial advisors produce better results

Forrest doesn’t throw numbers or general market trends at his customers out of the gate; he allows them to talk first. He leads client conversations by asking questions about what his clients recently experienced, what life changes they've had since the last time they met, and what financial goals they want to prepare for. Somewhere in this conversation, new planning opportunities, including estate planning, become natural discussion turning points. 

Forrest’s ability to listen to what his clients’ needs are turns into revenue. Over $700,000 in assets surfaced from one estate planning-led conversation alone. Discovering these assets can give advisors an advantage because now there’s an opportunity for estate planning funding.

What are practical client questions that financial advisors can use

High-performing financial advisors can use open-ended questions to understand what has changed in a client’s life, family, finances, and goals to create better strategies for their clients, including estate planning opportunities. 

Life changes questions

• Has anything changed in your family recently? 
• Have there been any major life milestones or transitions within the last year? 
• Has anyone close to you experienced significant life events? 

Family and relationships questions 

• Who are the people you think about the most when making financial decisions? 
• Are you helping support parents, children, or other family members? 
• Has your family grown or changed in any way? 

Financial changes questions 

• Have you bought, sold, or inherited anything significant? 
• Have you opened any new accounts or investments? 
• Has your income or business changed recently? 
• Are there any assets we haven’t talked about before? 
• Are there any financial decisions you have made since our last meeting? 

Client values and lifestyle questions 

• What do you imagine doing during retirement? 
• What do you enjoy doing outside of work? 
• What financial opportunities do you hope to create for your children or grandchildren? 
• If money weren’t a concern, what would you spend time and money doing? 

Financial goals questions 

• What are you looking forward to over the next few years?
• What would you like to accomplish before our next review? 
• Are there things you are saving for currently?

Estate Guru: The attorney-led platform that brings attorneys, financial advisors, and clients together

Forrest thought he had finally found the right partner. An attorney in Salt Lake City who seemed to understand the importance of leading with relationships in building client trust, and not just another opportunity to make money. 

Forrest started sending clients his way. Trusting that the relationships he had spent years building were in good hands.

Then the attorney told him he was starting his own advisory practice inside the law firm.

Forrest's response was quiet and immediate.

"Well then, I can't send you people anymore."

He knew there had to be someone out there who valued the relationships as much as he did. Someone he could partner with. That’s when he found our team at Estate Guru.

How is Estate Guru the estate planning platform for financial advisors

Forrest found Estate Guru the same way several of his clients find him, at an event. He noticed that our team was showing up for advisors in the way he shows up for his clients, creating space for conversations and genuinely interested in the people in the room.

It was one of the first times in his search that felt different. He was meeting a partner who operated the same way he did. Relationship first.

Forrest wasn't looking for someone to draft documents and take credit for the relationship he worked hard to build. He wanted to continue leading families he’s known for 20 years.

Our platform was the answer. The legal work was done correctly behind the scenes with expert attorneys. He and the client could now fund the trust with the assets they worked hard to find and manage. "They're like the man behind the curtain. Here's the guy who's going to actually put together your trust."

Leading with relationships means his clients have never walked into another office. One couple accidentally walked into the wrong attorney's office looking for Forrest. They walked straight back out and called him from the parking lot. They didn't want an attorney. They wanted him.

Forrest sees himself in that parking lot moment when it came to finding estate planning options. When he found Estate Guru, he recognized a team that shared his values. He wasn't going anywhere else either.

"It's not even a question in my mind whether I'll renew with Estate Guru."

How does Estate Guru support financial advisors in estate planning

In his first year with Estate Guru, Forrest completed estate plans for roughly 25 new households. Most of those relationships produced additional financial business. His seminar costs are fully covered by estate planning revenue.

And the conversations he is now having with senior clients are opening doors to their adult children. Those children are becoming the next generation of his book. Not because he pitched them. Because their parents trusted him enough to make the introduction.

Estate planning is where client trust is strengthened. See how advisors like Forrest are transforming their practice one relationship at a time.

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