The Experience That Led to Guidepost
When my Dad passed away, we had what most would consider a well-prepared estate.
There were documents. Advisors. A plan.
But when it came time to act, we didn’t know where to start.
We spent time searching for information, confirming details, and trying to understand what needed to happen first.
Everything had been planned.
But nothing had been prepared for execution.
That experience made one thing very clear:
Estate planning and estate readiness are not the same thing.
Understanding the Gap
Through my career in management consulting and operational leadership, I've focused on bringing structure and clarity to complex situations.
From that lens, the gap between estate planning and estate readiness was straightforward:
- Information wasn’t centralized.
- Access wasn’t clearly documented.
- There was no clear sequence of actions.
Research that Confirmed the Gap
To validate what I was seeing, I conducted research with 206 families about their estate readiness. The findings were stark.
Only 8.7% of families are confident that their successor will have the information necessary to execute their plans.
Even more concerning:
71% scored below 50% on estate readiness; essentially a failing grade from the majority of families.
The research revealed critical gaps:
- 64% haven't documented their financial accounts for their successor
- 65% don't have login details and passwords stored
The insight was clear:
Most families confuse having a plan with being ready to execute it.
This gap isn't theoretical. It's measured and real, and it affects 91% of families.