Estate-Planning Financial Advisors
Financial advisors who work on estate and legacy planning — their credentials, their firm, and the states they serve, with a link to verify each one yourself. Advisors never pay for placement.
What an estate-planning financial advisor actually does
Estate planning is usually thought of as a lawyer’s job — the will, the trust, the powers of attorney. But most of what decides where your money actually goes is financial, not legal: who is named on each retirement account, how your accounts are titled, when and how you give during your lifetime, and how taxes are handled along the way. That is the work an estate-planning-focused financial advisor does, in coordination with the attorney who drafts the documents and the accountant who files the returns.
A good one will not try to be your lawyer. They plan the financial side and tell you plainly when you need an estate attorney instead. If you are starting from the documents, our plain-English guides and trust explainers are a free place to begin.
How to verify an advisor — today, yourself
When advisors are listed here, their profiles will be self-reported, and — until our independent verification is in place — you should confirm anyone before you meet. The same checklist applies to any advisor you find, anywhere:
- Check FINRA BrokerCheck. Every profile with a CRD number links straight to that advisor’s record at brokercheck.finra.org — registrations, exams passed, and any disclosures.
- Confirm the credentials. A CFP® can be checked with the CFP Board; a CPA with the state board of accountancy. Our editorial standards explain the standard we hold ourselves to.
- Ask how they are paid. Fee-only, fee-based, and commission each create different incentives. The profile shows what the advisor reported; ask them to confirm.
A listing in this directory is not an endorsement, and nothing here is legal, tax, or investment advice.
No advisors are listed yet
We’re building this directory the right way. An advisor appears here only after they have explicitly opted in to be listed on The Trusted Advisor — we never publish anyone who hasn’t asked to be. No one has opted in yet, so there is nothing to show. As advisors join, their profiles will appear here.
In the meantime, our free plain-English guides and trust explainers are a good place to start.
How to choose an estate-planning advisor
The right advisor for an estate is not necessarily the one with the most letters after their name. A short, honest checklist:
- Do they actually do estate work? Plenty of advisors will say yes. Ask for specifics: trusts they coordinate on, how they handle beneficiary reviews, whether they work with your attorney.
- How are they paid, exactly? Get it in writing. Ask whether they earn commissions on anything they might recommend.
- Will they put it in writing? A fiduciary standard, a clear fee, and a written plan are reasonable to expect.
- Talk to more than one. There is no cost to sending a request here, and no obligation. Compare.
Common questions
What does an estate-planning financial advisor do?
An estate-planning-focused financial advisor helps you organize how your money and property pass to the people and causes you choose — coordinating beneficiary designations, account titling, tax-aware gifting, and charitable plans, and working alongside the attorney who drafts your will or trust. They plan the financial side; they do not, by themselves, practice law.
Do advisors pay to be listed in this directory?
No. Advisors are listed on merit and never pay for placement or for leads. Ordering reflects how complete an advisor's profile is, never payment.
Have you verified these advisors' credentials?
Not yet. The listings are self-reported by the advisors. We are building independent verification; in the meantime every profile links to FINRA BrokerCheck so you can confirm an advisor's registration and record yourself before you talk to them. A listing here is not an endorsement.
Does it cost anything to contact an advisor?
No. Sending a request through a profile is free and carries no obligation. The advisor reaches out to you directly.
How do I choose the right advisor?
Check their record on BrokerCheck, ask how they are paid (fee-only, fee-based, or commission), confirm they routinely handle estate and legacy work, and make sure they will coordinate with your estate attorney and tax preparer. Talk to more than one before deciding.
Where this data comes from
Advisor listings are self-reported profiles published through AdvisorWorld and rendered here from a pinned, dated snapshot (v2, published July 19, 2026). We do not edit an advisor’s facts. The directory changes only when a new snapshot is published and pinned — never silently.
Advisors are listed free and never pay for placement or for leads. Ordering reflects profile completeness only. A listing is not an endorsement, and we have not yet independently verified these credentials — see our editorial standards.