The Estate Planning Edge: Strategies That Set Advisors Apart

Are your clients truly prepared, or simply relying on an outdated estate plan or documents that no longer reflect their lives? 1 CE credit Time: 7:30 A.M. Reg/Breakfast | 7:45 – 9:00 A.M. Program Speaker: Lou Pierro, Esq.,Pierro, Connor, and Strauss, LLC Are your clients truly prepared, or simply relying on an outdated estate plan or documents that no longer reflect their lives? For many financial advisors, estate planning remains an underleveraged opportunity to deliver deeper value, strengthen client loyalty, and retain assets across generations. This program is designed for advisors serving a wide range of clients, from middle-income families to high-net-worth individuals, who want to move beyond the basics. You’ll gain practical, real-world strategies to help clients protect assets, minimize taxes, and plan for long-term care with greater confidence. We’ll break down today’s estate tax landscape, including permanent federal exemption levels and New York’s estate tax “cliff,” and demonstrate how a range of trust strategies – from foundational revocable trusts that organize assets and avoid probate to more advanced techniques such as SLATs, BDITs, and Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts (MAPTs) – can complement and strengthen the financial plans you manage for your clients. Most importantly, you’ll learn how to turn estate planning conversations into a strategic advantage, deepening relationships, engaging heirs, and positioning yourself as the central advisor in your clients’ financial lives. Learning Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 1. Explain the current estate tax environment and its planning implications for clients across wealth levels. 2. Evaluate and implement trust strategies (Revocable Trusts, SLATs, BDITs, MAPTs) in practical client scenarios. 3. Coordinate estate, retirement, and income tax planning, including SECURE Act considerations. 4. Leverage estate planning to grow their practice by strengthening client retention, building multigenerational relationships, and preserving assets under management. Meeting sponsors: Advisors Insurance Brokers-New York LTC Brokers, Ltd.