Sr Estate Planner

About The Role:

Create relationships with Baird Financial Advisors and discuss their most important and complex client estate planning situations. Participate directly in client conference calls and meetings. On your own initiative and at the request of FAs, review documents and research information to answer specific estate planning questions and to create comprehensive, customized estate planning reports for clients using our estate planning tools.

Activities and duties require a high level of expertise, organization, and personal initiative. An ideal background would be an estate planning attorney with years of experience dealing with the complex estate issues of clients with $2,000,000 to $20,000,000 or more in assets.

• Be able to answer all basic estate planning questions from FAs and their clients. For more advanced questions or issues, be able to research an answer and/or direct FAs to the appropriate resources. This includes questions regarding issues such as tax planning, beneficiary designations, asset titling, the impact of trusts in planning, and trust and estate administration. Also be able to provide support on other tax and financial planning-related questions as available.
• Actively discuss estate planning issues with Baird FAs, offering opinions and implications as appropriate. Communication will be through conference calls, in-person meetings, formal and informal emails, formal memos, and formal estate planning documents. May include occasional travel.
• Serve as an author of articles on trust and estate planning concepts for internal audiences and external client groups. Be available for occasional public speaking opportunities, including training sessions for FAs or speaking to client groups and centers of influence (attorneys and accountants).
• Develop comprehensive, customized estate planning reports and analysis using estate planning software. Help explain the results of the plan to FAs prior to, and sometimes during, delivery to the client. Be able to assist FAs in the delivery of estate plans to clients, as well as to engage in a discussion with clients regarding the details and implications of the plans.
• Work directly with the FAs to confirm or complete data in Estate Planning Questionnaire. Includes review of client documents and interpretation of legal documents.
• Work with our internal resources (Operations, Legal, etc.) to ensure policies and procedures are appropriately designed and correctly applied, and offer suggestions on ways to improve. Work with Legal Department to resolve client disputes as needed.
• Have a thorough understanding of the formal estate planning process and how it relates to an overall financial plan and be able to explain and adapt the process to apply to numerous scenarios, both with individual FAs and as part of firm-wide initiatives.
• Have an understanding of the products and services offered within a brokerage environment, including life insurance, long-term care insurance, and annuities, and be able to work with representatives of those departments.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Bachelor’s degree required Business or Finance preferred. JD a strong preference; other advanced degree(s) a plus. Minimum of five years previous estate planning experience required; financial planning experience a plus.
• Experience drafting estate planning documents, administering estates, serving as trustee and defending estate plans to the IRS preferred.
• Basic brokerage licenses (SIE, Series 7, 66) preferred, or must have the ability to earn such certifications quickly. Certified Financial Planner (CFP) or similar license and experience in the brokerage industry a plus.
• Strong communication skills, both over the phone and in person, and strong computer skills, including working knowledge of word processing and spreadsheet software and internet functions.
• Ability to balance multiple projects and work under strict deadlines at times, to work independently on projects, and to effectively relate to others in order to accomplish work responsibilities and objectives, including acting as a team player with others in the department.

• $110,000-$170,000 annual salary range.
• Bonus potential targeted at 35% of base pay.
• Compensation and bonus are commensurate with experience, performance and/or firm profitability.
• Check out our Total Rewards at Baird, for a summary of our benefits and compensation.
• Applications accepted on a rolling basis.

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Baird is committed to diversity and provides employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, citizenship, national origin, age, disability, military service, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or any other status protected by law.