Episode Overview

Theme:
This episode of The Practical Planner centers on making estate planning an essential component of every client’s financial plan. Hosts Thomas Kopelman and David Hunt are joined by financial advisor and Altruist Head of Community, Desarte Yarnway, to examine practical ways advisors can integrate estate planning into their client engagements, why it’s so often overlooked, and how to leverage process and technology to drive better outcomes for clients.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Desarte Yarnway’s Personal Journey & Motivation

• Personal Backstory: Desarte shares how losing his father at age 12—who died without an estate plan—deeply influenced his commitment to this work.

  “I saw in real time how important it was to have something that left instructions, financial instructions for what to do with your assets or lack thereof, or even things that were of sentimental value.” — Desarte Yarnway [03:23]

• Connecting with Clients: Desarte emphasizes not always sharing his story upfront (“I’m not just openly sharing the story” [05:05]), but using it to humanize the process when appropriate—“Human advice wins.” [05:19]
• Estate Planning Is Personal: It’s personal for both advisor and client. By connecting to real-life impacts, advisors can better motivate clients to act.

2. The “RIITE” Planning Framework

• Desarte developed the “RIITE” acronym early in his career: Retirement, Investments, Insurance, Taxes, Estate Planning.
• This model is presented up-front to clients; estate planning is always a pillar of the engagement:

  “They knew at some point we would be talking about estate planning and how that was a part of the backbone of a solid foundation financial plan.” — Desarte Yarnway [05:19]

3. Estate Planning Process in Practice

• Initial Engagement:
  • Advisors collect detailed data including existing estate planning documents.
  • Estate planning is discussed within the first six months, aiming to give all clients a solid foundation—even if they were to end the relationship early.

    “Even if they left us after that first 45 to 90 days...they would move on better than they came to us.” — Desarte Yarnway [11:48]

• Client Gaps & Common Pitfalls:
  • Few clients—maybe only a third—have any kind of estate plan done when they begin working with an advisor. For Thomas’s clients, “under five” out of 100+ had estate plans (08:30).
  • Many clients are in their 30s–50s with dependents and still lack these foundational documents.

4. Value of Advisor-Led Process

• Standardizing the Experience:
  • Having a formal process for estate planning ensures no client “falls through the cracks” and that each receives comprehensive advice.
  • A process is not only best for clients but acts as an effective “sales tool”—prospects get clarity on what working with the advisor will look like.
• Tech Stack Evaluation:
  • Desarte’s rubric for integrating technology into his process—Efficiency, Cost Effectiveness, and Client Experience (12:29).

5. The Advisor’s Critical Role in Estate Planning

• Essential Collaboration:
  • David Hunt (estate planning attorney/RIA experience) explains that advisors are crucial, especially at the strategy and funding stages, since attorneys rarely have time or ongoing relationships to surface and understand all personal dynamics:

  “The advisor is so, so critical at the first stage as far as the strategy and helping the client actually motivate them to get a plan done...” — David Hunt [17:18]

• Quality Control:
  • Advisors reviewing attorneys’ work can catch errors (e.g., wrong names left in documents [18:48]), reinforcing their value in the process.

6. Leveraging Technology and Partnerships

• Tech’s Role:
  • Technology can make the estate planning process more accessible, less expensive, and easier to maintain for clients. While some critique digital estate planning tools as “not as good,” Desarte argues that getting a client from zero to one—from nothing to something—is a massive value-add (15:06).
• Sourcing Attorneys:
  • For advisors with geographically dispersed clients, platforms (like wealth.com) that vet attorneys across states help efficiently connect clients with the right professionals [19:55].

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Advisors' Roles:

  “Our job is to highlight the gaps in our client's plan and to educate them on the importance of why these things should exist within their financial circumstance.” — Desarte Yarnway [05:19]

• On the Importance of Process:

  “Your process...is your best sales tool. All I want people to know when they come into the first meeting with us is, here's exactly what it looks like and feels like to work with us. Is that what you're looking for?” — Thomas Kopelman [10:31]

• On Technology:

  “There’s a lot of tech that makes your life better as a financial planner, but doesn't necessarily make tech the life better as the client...When you take a step back and realize, like, what I'm ultimately doing is helping somebody make their life better...” — Thomas Kopelman [13:17]

• On Getting the Fundamentals Right:

  “When we're arguing about sort of the 'gold standard,'...we get away from the real goal, which is to serve people.” — Desarte Yarnway [15:50]

• On the Advisor’s Limits:

  “It's important for advisors to know that they don't have to, nor should they act as an attorney. Like your job is to inspire your clients to action...” — Desarte Yarnway [20:22]

• On Embedding Estate Planning:

  “The estate plan is the backbone of a financial plan. We do all this accumulation to be able to help people... So I think it's something that if you haven't embedded into your process as an advisor, you should start doing that.” — Desarte Yarnway [22:07]

Key Takeaways for Advisors

• Incorporate estate planning as a core pillar from the very first client interaction.
• Leverage a consistent process; this benefits both efficiency and client outcomes.
• Use technology judiciously: tools should enhance efficiency, be cost effective, and improve the client experience.
• Don’t try to “be the attorney”—focus on inspiring and guiding clients to take action, and coordinate with legal professionals for execution.
• Review documents and serve as a quality control point for the process.
• Make estate planning practical, accessible, and part of the advisory DNA, not just an afterthought.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:59] Desarte's personal backstory
• [04:11] Making estate planning practical and client-centered
• [05:19] The “RIITE” framework and its integration
• [06:57] What this looks like in practice
• [08:19] How often clients have estate plans at onboarding
• [10:31] The value of a standardized process
• [11:48] When estate planning is introduced for new clients
• [12:29] Desarte’s tech stack evaluation rubric
• [15:06] Zero to one: the biggest impact is getting clients started
• [16:21] Attorney perspective: The advisor’s integral role
• [18:48] Advisors catching errors in legal docs
• [19:55] Leveraging technology for attorney sourcing
• [20:22] Advisor’s role: Inspire and coordinate, don’t “be the attorney”
• [22:07] Final thoughts: Process and the power of the estate plan

Conclusion

The episode provided no-nonsense, actionable strategies for advisors to make estate planning central to their practice, use process to drive results, leverage tech and professional partnerships, and ultimately, deliver better client outcomes. As Desarte summed it up:

“The estate plan is the backbone of a financial plan...if you haven't embedded [it] into your process as an advisor, you should start doing that.” [22:07]