A new online tool for businesses allows professionals, clients and their families to work together to build estate and end-of-life plans.
Kelowna, B.C.–based Check-Out Planning Services Ltd. has launched Check-Out for Business, a web-based service that helps clients gather, upload and organize personal documents in a central location through a series of steps.
Clients can also invite family members and professionals such as advisors and lawyers to become team members, gaining access to clients’ information so they can plan collaboratively.
The product launch follows the firm’s introduction last year of CheckOutPlan.com for consumers, and wealth management firms are expressing interest in the latest offering, said Tammy Brown, principal and CEO at Check-Out Planning Services, in an interview.
Advisors are often challenged to get clients to provide thorough, accurate information, Brown said. The platform helps solve that, prompting clients to consider details about everything from assets to organ donation to pet care. Pre-written content is included that can be personalized, such as just-in-case letters.
Users can also create their own content, as well as upload personal photos and stories. (Team members continue to have access to the plan after the client’s death.)
Existing documents, such as financial plans, wills and funeral plans, can also be uploaded to the platform and easily updated, Brown said.
In addition to planning, the platform helps advisors create intergenerational relationships and grow their networks, as clients add team members and grant their advisors permission to contact them.
“The advisor gets a front-row seat to meeting the family [and] connecting with friends,” Brown said.
For clients who wish to download their plans, the platform allows creation of PDFs, which are “locked, watermarked, time- and date-stamped [and] linked to the account,” Brown said. “We’ve taken every precaution around fraud.”
The platform complies with Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, she said.