Estate planning involves multiple dynamic aspects that must be reviewed, revised, and updated regularly to stay relevant to clients and those concerned.
It involves several stages—including gathering an inventory of a person’s assets and looking at their debts and liabilities before deciding how they’re managed, preserved, or distributed following the owner’s death and communicating these changes to the testator.
Fortunately, the legal sector is catching up with technology, and law firms can work more efficiently with modern solutions like estate planning software, artificial intelligence, and other integrations. Let’s highlight some of them below.
1. An All-In-One Estate Planning Software
Estate planning, as mentioned, involves several aspects that need to be periodically reviewed and updated, posing a challenge to estate planners managing multiple projects. To ensure you’re on top of everything, it pays to get a comprehensive estate planning software solution.
Below, you’ll find some tips to make the most out of your estate planning software:
1. Evaluate Its Features Thoroughly
Not all software is created equally; some products are better than others. Generally, an all-in-one planning software has everything you need in one solution. For instance, some estate planning apps may be integrated with CRM functions and scheduling tools, while others may have additional features like tax planning and accounting for easier financial management.
2. Assess And Prioritize Your Needs
Before deciding which one to purchase, it’s important to set clear objectives and determine your most pressing needs. More than automating repetitive tasks, your assessment should include identifying rooms for improvement and providing the best service to your clients.
If you have some type of software installed, consider integration capabilities or getting customized business software to better address your requirements. Moreover, choose one with advanced security features to protect your client’s information from data breaches and cyberattacks.
2. Automated Responses And Chatbots
These technologies are integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-leaning capabilities, which can help them improve over time. These technologies are present in almost all advanced software, their functions changing and improving according to business’s needs and requirements.
In the field of estate planning, these can be used for the following tasks crucial to client management:
1. Automating The Client Onboarding Process
Some chatbots are programmed to gather essential client data, which estate planning attorneys can use to simplify the intake process. Collecting such information helps lawyers prepare and conduct meetings more efficiently, improving client communication and experience.
2. Updating Client Data
Law firms often have legal customer relationship management (CRM) software, which has automated data entry capabilities and can be integrated with other software and chatbots. This cuts data entry times and allows firms to gather accurate and updated client data, enhancing workflows and better client interactions.
3.. CRM Software
CRM software is recommended if your priority lies in providing more client-centric services. This business tool serves as a comprehensive database for client information, allowing you and your team to collaborate on certain tasks and manage customer relations more efficiently.
With CRM software, you can provide personalized services, making your clients feel valued and heard.
4. Online Appointment Setting And Virtual Communication
Besides chatbots, estate planners can benefit from appointment scheduling and management tools. These systems can accept meeting requests, send notifications and reminders, and cancel and reschedule appointments.
While personal interactions are mandatory in some settings, legal professionals can use virtual communication tools when clients can’t personally appear in the firm’s conference room. Providing such convenient options for clients enhances customer satisfaction.
5. Document Management Solutions
Document management involves more than drafting legal papers. Besides automating document preparation, accurate and updated information is detrimental to successful estate planning. Here are some of the essential features that positively impact client experience:
1. Predictive And Analytic Capabilities
AI-integrated solutions can scan and examine relevant estate planning documents. With such functions, they can spot anomalies and inconsistencies with the client’s data and use accurate information in drafting, processing, and sending documents.
2. Secure Online Signing, Notarization, And Filing
Some legal document management software offers complete data-processing capabilities. Thus, they offer secure notarization and storage, besides enabling clients to sign electronically.
3. Seamless Integration
Choose a product that lets you link your documents to your CRM and estate planning systems. These include both historical and updated wills, insurance policies, notes, power of attorney, trust, proof of identity, financial documents, titles and deeds, etc.
Concluding Thoughts
Estate planning is a service-oriented profession, and client management must be a priority in this industry.
Like other legal proceedings, this field requires gathering information and keeping tabs on several factors, including the probate law, the client’s will, asset protection, and minimizing tax and income consequences.
By making the estate creation process more efficient, the tools discussed help boost client experience and foster trust, helping law firms expand their customer base.
