By Rebecca Lake, CEPF®

Estate planning can be a valuable addition to your firm’s scope of services, enabling you to increase wallet share with existing clients or attract prospects who need professional planning advice. An intake form or questionnaire is a straightforward way to collect the information you need in order to help shape their plans. Here’s how to create an estate planning intake form you can share with clients.

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What Is an Estate Planning Intake Form?

An estate planning intake form is a confidential document that allows clients to share details about themselves and their planning needs. Financial advisors, attorneys and other professionals who offer planning services in this area may use intake forms as information-gathering tools.

Intake forms help clients and their advisors to shape a plan that aligns with their needs and goals. If your client finds it difficult to discuss estate planning, they can write it down instead. That allows them time to gather their thoughts and clarify what kind of help they need from you.

Key Elements of an Estate Planning Intake Form

Advisors are not required to follow a specific format when developing an intake template, but there are some key areas you’ll likely want to include. A typical estate planning intake form is usually broken down into the following sections:

  • Cover letter. The cover letter is simply an introduction to the intake form, explaining why you’re asking the client to complete it and the type of information you’re asking them to share.
  • Glossary. Estate planning can be a complicated concept, and you may choose to include a brief glossary that defines key terms clients will encounter in the form. You can include the glossary after the cover letter and before the first page of the intake form, or at the end.
  • Client information. Clients will need to share some basic information, including their name, address and date of birth. You may also include questions about their marital status, education level, employment and citizenship status in this section.
  • Family information. You’ll need to know a little about the client’s family situation in order to create their estate plan. This section should cover their spouse or partner, their children and any other dependents they’re responsible for.
  • Financial information. In this section, you’ll ask clients to share details about their income, assets and debts. That includes assets managed by you as well as assets held away.
  • Estate planning concerns. Every client’s estate plan will look different, and you need to know what’s top of mind for each one. Here, you can ask clients to elaborate on their top planning priorities or concerns.

An estate planning intake form can include a mix of yes or no, multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions. Your form should be detailed enough to allow you to get all of the information you need to start developing your client’s estate plan, but not so detailed that it makes them feel overwhelmed before they even get started.

Sample Estate Planning Intake Form Template

A couple reviews estate planning documents at home.

Once you understand the structure and what to include, you can work on creating an estate planning intake form for your firm. You can use the template below as a guide.

However, please note that the template shared below is not a substitute for a legally binding document prepared with the help of an attorney.

Client Information

Name: _________________________________________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________ City, State, Zip Code: ___________________

Email Address: ____________________________ County of Residence: _____________________

Phone Number: _______________________ Alt. Phone Number: __________________________

Date of Birth: _____________________ Social Security Number:  __________________________

Employer: ___________________________________ Occupation: ____________________________

Annual Salary: _______________________________ Other Income: _________________________

Citizenship: _______________________ Marital Status: ____________________________________

Spouse/Partner Information

Name: _________________________________________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________ City, State, Zip Code: ___________________

Email Address: ____________________________ County of Residence: _____________________

Phone Number: _______________________ Alt. Phone Number: __________________________

Date of Birth: _____________________ Social Security Number:  __________________________

Employer: ___________________________________ Occupation: ____________________________

Annual Salary: _______________________________ Other Income: _________________________

Citizenship: _______________________ Marital Status: ____________________________________

Dependent #1

Name: _________________________________________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________ City, State, Zip Code: ___________________

Email Address: ____________________________ County of Residence: _____________________

Phone Number: _______________________ Alt. Phone Number:  _________________________

Date of Birth: _____________________ Social Security Number:  __________________________

Citizenship: _______________________ Relationship to Client: ____________________________

Dependent #2

Name: _________________________________________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________ City, State, Zip Code: ___________________

Email Address: ____________________________ County of Residence: _____________________

Phone Number: _______________________ Alt. Phone Number:  _________________________

Date of Birth: _____________________ Social Security Number:  __________________________

Citizenship: _______________________ Relationship to Client: ____________________________

Dependent #3

Name: _________________________________________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________ City, State, Zip Code: ___________________

Email Address: ____________________________ County of Residence: _____________________

Phone Number: _______________________ Alt. Phone Number:  _________________________

Date of Birth: _____________________ Social Security Number:  __________________________

Citizenship: _______________________ Relationship to Client: ____________________________

Financial Information

Property #1

Type: _______________________________________________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________________________________

Owner(s): ___________________________________________________________________________

Estimated Value: _________________________________ Mortgage Balance: ______________

Property #2

Type: _______________________________________________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________________________________

Owner(s): ___________________________________________________________________________

Estimated Value: _________________________________ Mortgage Balance: ______________

Bank Account #1

Financial Institution Name: __________________________________________________________

Account Type: ______________________________________ Current Balance: _______________

Account Name: _________________________________ Account Number: _________________

Owner(s): ______________________________________ Beneficiary: _________________________

Bank Account #2

Financial Institution Name: ___________________________________________________________

Account Type: ______________________________________ Current Balance: ________________

Account Name: _________________________________ Account Number: __________________

Owner(s): ______________________________________ Beneficiary: _________________________

Bank Account #3

Financial Institution Name: ___________________________________________________________

Account Type: ______________________________________ Current Balance: ________________

Account Name: _________________________________ Account Number: __________________

Owner(s): ______________________________________ Beneficiary: _________________________

Investment Account #1

Financial Institution Name: ___________________________________________________________

Account Type: ______________________________________ Current Balance: ________________

Account Name: _________________________________ Account Number: __________________

Owner(s): ______________________________________ Beneficiary: _________________________

Investment Account #2

Financial Institution Name: ___________________________________________________________

Account Type: ______________________________________ Current Balance: ________________

Account Name: _________________________________ Account Number: __________________

Owner(s): ______________________________________ Beneficiary: _________________________

Investment Account #3

Financial Institution Name: ___________________________________________________________

Account Type: ______________________________________ Current Balance: ________________

Account Name: _________________________________ Account Number: ___________________

Owner(s): ______________________________________ Beneficiary: _________________________

Insurance Policies

Policy #1

Insurance Company: ________________________________________________________________

Policy Type: ___________________________________ Policy Number: _______________________

Insured: ______________________________________ Beneficiary: __________________________

Coverage Amount: ____________________________ Policy Owner: _________________________

Policy #2

Insurance Company: ________________________________________________________________

Policy Type: ___________________________________ Policy Number: _______________________

Insured: ______________________________________ Beneficiary: __________________________

Coverage Amount: ____________________________ Policy Owner: ________________________

Liabilities

Mortgage Balances: ___________________________ Credit Card Balances: _________________

Student Loans: ________________________________ Vehicle Loans: _______________________

Personal Loans: _______________________________ Business Loans: ______________________

Other Debts: ________________________________________________________________________

Estate Planning

Please check all that are areas of concern for you.

______ Disability planning

______ Long-term care

______ Federal and state estate tax planning

______ Asset protection

______ Insurance

______ Probate

______ Care for dependents/minor children

______ Guardianship/conservatorship

______ Financial power of attorney

______ Healthcare power of attorney

______ End of life medical decision-making

______ Business succession planning

______ Charitable giving

Please use this space to provide any additional details about your estate planning concerns or questions. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bottom Line

A couple fills out an estate planning intake form template.

The example provided above offers a look at what an estate planning intake form should cover. You can tweak this template to fit your firm’s needs, work with an attorney to create one, or use online software to develop a custom form. You may also explore other uses for templates to simplify and streamline other aspects of client onboarding.

Tips for Growing Your Advisory Business

  • Advisors wear many hats, and between meetings with clients, you may spend a significant amount of your day on marketing. If you’re looking for a way to promote your firm and increase brand visibility without sacrificing precious hours, you may consider partnering with an advisor marketing platform like SmartAsset AMP. SmartAsset AMP (Advisor Marketing Platform) is a holistic marketing service financial advisors can use for client lead generation and automated marketing. Sign up for a free demo to explore how SmartAsset AMP can help you expand your practice’s marketing operation. Get started today.
  • If you don’t have time to create an estate planning intake form template from scratch, your customer relationship management (CRM) platform may be able to help. Some of the top CRM platforms include templates for client intake that you can customize to meet your firm’s needs. If your CRM doesn’t include this feature, custom form builder applications for financial advisors could offer what you need.

Photo credit: ©iStock.com/Jacob Wackerhausen, ©iStock.com/Inside Creative House, ©iStock.com/Jacob Wackerhausen

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