WSFS Bank Executive Highlights Critical Estate Planning Gaps for Businesses and Families

Jamie Hopkins, Executive Vice President and Chief Wealth Officer at WSFS Bank, identifies significant educational gaps in estate planning that affect both consumers and business owners. One of the primary issues is lack of awareness regarding how estate planning impacts everyday life, with many overlooking critical elements like account titling, beneficiary designations, powers of attorney, and health care directives. For business owners, common oversights include succession planning, tax strategy, digital assets, and liquidity planning.

Hopkins emphasizes that estate planning is not exclusively for the wealthy, noting that common life events such as children attending college or acquiring new business property can create substantial complications without proper preparation. At Bryn Mawr Trust, the focus is on education first, helping clients understand available tools and their importance in protecting families and businesses.

Regarding financial consolidation, Hopkins advises individuals to begin by consolidating accounts into a single view to avoid the risks of scattered assets across multiple institutions. Simplification through reducing redundancy and overlapping accounts is crucial, along with regular check-ins with financial advisors to adapt plans to changing life circumstances and tax laws. Coordination across investments, estate plans, tax strategies, and insurance ensures alignment with goals, which Bryn Mawr Trust’s integrated strategy facilitates by bringing these components together.

For business owners, Hopkins stresses the importance of proactive succession planning, which should start early rather than at retirement or sale intentions. Early planning allows for identifying future leaders, exploring tax-efficient transfer strategies, and building flexibility. This approach protects both the business and family interests, contrasting with reactive planning that limits options. Trusts remain overlooked in estate planning due to societal avoidance of death-related discussions and misconceptions that they are only for the wealthy. Without trusts, assets often go through probate, leading to lengthy, costly, and public processes. For business owners, trusts can reduce taxes, secure succession plans, and enable generational wealth transfers aligned with long-term wishes.

Bryn Mawr Trust’s unique approach involves coordinating financial advisory, legal, tax, and banking services under one framework, eliminating silos that clients typically manage independently. This model, supported by a national trust charter and Delaware state charter, enhances decision-making and confidence. In the Greater Delaware Valley, business owners face regional tax specifics like Delaware’s research and development refundable credit structure or Philadelphia’s Business Income & Receipts Tax, making coordinated solutions essential for preserving legacies and addressing modern challenges like liquidity needs and workforce dynamics. By integrating banking, wealth, and estate planning, WSFS Bank aims to support local business continuity and growth, mitigating risks from poor liquidity and succession planning.