Legacy Belongs in the Meeting: How Advisors Integrate Legacy Work into Their Workflow

Most advisors know legacy matters.

What they don’t always know is how to talk about it.

Not because it isn’t relevant, but because it doesn’t always show up naturally in a spreadsheet or an asset allocation. So they wait. They wait for a legacy-specific meeting, a client prompt, or some other perfect opening.

But legacy work is not a standalone event. 

It’s a conversation that deepens over time. It starts small. And it belongs in the flow of your existing client experience.

Step one: Put legacy on the agenda

The simplest way to begin is to treat legacy like any other priority in the client’s life.

• Review their insurance.

• Review their portfolio.

• And right there on the agenda — review their vision or talk about legacy.

The first time might feel uncomfortable. You might not know exactly what to ask. That’s okay. What matters is that you open the door.

One advisor we work with added “Legacy” to a meeting agenda and sent it to the client in advance. To his surprise, the client replied and asked if he could bring his spouse to the meeting — because legacy had been on his mind, and he didn’t want to have the conversation without her. That was the first time the advisor had seen the spouse in over five years.

The simple agenda item became a turning point.

Step two: Add dedicated legacy meetings for clients who want more

As clients engage, some will want to go deeper.

You might:

• Schedule a session focused on personal and shared vision.

• Help them draft a legacy letter.

• Explore how they want to involve their children.

These meetings are easier than they sound. 

You are not doing this alone — we provide talking points, training, and templates to guide you.

You’ll quickly find that these conversations are often the most fulfilling ones you’ll have.

Just like you learned how to guide investment conversations, you’ll develop confidence here too.

Step three: Help clients lead their own family meetings

Not every family meeting should be advisor-led. Some of the best ones are family-led — where the advisor simply supports the process and provides structure.

We help advisors walk their clients through how to organize and run successful family meetings — creating space for connection, storytelling, values, and multi-generational trust.

And they never start with a six-day retreat. 

They start with a line item on a meeting agenda.

A Final Reminder

You don’t have to overhaul your practice overnight. Legacy work, like anything meaningful, is best done slowly and thoughtfully over time. 

You will get more comfortable. 

Your clients will become more open. 

And before you know it, you’ll look back and be amazed at how far you’ve come.

Your clients will remember the numbers.
But they’ll never forget how you helped them tell their story.