Estate planning is fintech’s next frontier

Estate planning is no longer confined to dusty offices with three last names on the door — entrepreneurs are giving it a digital makeover. 

Fintech startups are racing to modernize responsibilities like drafting wills and setting up trusts:

• Trust & Will launched EstateOS — an AI-supported legacy planning platform that transforms static documents into adaptable plans. 
• Childfree Trust offers a subscription-based fiduciary platform to support the growing base of childless Americans.  
• Eazewell, a startup co-founded by NBA stars Russell Westbrook and Kemba Walker, uses AI to aid end-of-life planning (for people, not basketball careers). 

Estate planning is crucial. No one wants to fight over money while grieving, but few have their affairs in order: Only 31% of Americans have a will, and 55% have no estate plan at all. 

Why is that?

Conventional estate planning can be inconvenient and expensive. And it traditionally leans on kids' involvement, so it's struggled to keep pace with emerging trends and demographic shifts — including longer lifespans and more childfree adults. 

• We're also on the cusp of the largest generational wealth transfer in history.
•  An estimated $124T is expected to be inherited between 2023 and 2048.

That means an unfathomable amount of wealth is about to pass through an inaccessible legacy process — AKA the kind of situation entrepreneurs dream of. 

There are still skeptics.

AI always raises concerns over accuracy, but that's especially relevant in estate planning. Even small mistakes can have life-altering consequences, so some critics and consumers are understandably anxious. 

Also, some of these services run on subscription models, meaning living too long could make one-time document creation more cost-effective. 

Regardless, you can officially brace for life after death from the comfort of your couch — and an industry is emerging around finding easier ways to make you a better-prepared, more responsible dead person.