• Organise, maintain, securely store and selectively share important personal, legal and financial information
• All details stored in one place for efficient planning and improved customer experience
• Enables clients, professionals and their families to work together seamlessly

Zenplans a new digital estate planning service has been launched for advisers, solicitors and accountants to help their clients securely organise, maintain, store, and selectively share all their most important personal and financial information.

As we move away from traditional paper documents towards a more digital society, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of all the various personal and financial information we have. Zenplans offers a solution; professionals can help their clients manage their assets, debts and other financial affairs as well as key information about their daily lives; from their utility provider to their social media accounts.

The system also securely stores a clients’ wishes - including details about their will and Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) and how to organise their digital legacy - with the option to selectively share key details with named delegates. These delegates can be granted restricted or full access, either immediately or after a particular time - for example, after death, or if the client becomes incapacitated - ensuring that information is quickly and easily accessible by the right people as and when needed.

This means that if a client dies and they had a Zenplan in place, any professionals with access to it can then work together to find all the information they need to complete probate, saving time and stress, mitigating the risk of missing any key information and ensuring a much-improved experience for those left behind.

Zenplans was created by Stephen Moses, a former management consultant for EY, after he experienced first-hand how difficult it can be to identify and collate all the information needed to administer someone’s estate. He realised that, not only is there a huge amount of personal and financial information to deal with, but that finding it all and making sure the right people have access to it - both during their lifetime and when they die - can be a complete minefield.

He said: “We all have so much personal and financial information, that it is hard enough to keep on top of it all ourselves, making it almost impossible for our loved ones to sort out when we pass away.

“And now everything is online, it can be difficult to know exactly what assets the person had, let alone where they are, making trying to piece it altogether really stressful at what is already an incredibly emotional time for those left behind.

“I wanted to do something to make it much easier for people to keep on top of all their important information during their lifetime, but also create a way for people to share all that key information securely with those closest to them - both professionals and family members - to make estate administration easy.”

Zenplans also works as a key planning tool for professionals - the step-by-step guidance helps create touchpoints, and identifies any planning gaps, enabling them to turn a transactional relationship into a more advisory, lifetime connection, creating a closer bond with both the client and their family, as Stephen explains: “Zenplans helps identify any gaps in a clients’ planning, giving professionals the opportunity to operate at the forefront of estate planning and make a real difference to their clients’ lives.

Stephen concludes “Plus, by creating a Zenplan, clients are encouraged to think about sharing their wishes with loved ones, which then naturally helps engagement with family, offering an organic way for professionals to build and maintain new relationships with the next generation.”