"You don't know the next generation so you can't go in with a set agenda. You have to listen, find out what their buttons are, and what needs they want to address," he says.
These meetings can sometimes slide into uncomfortable territory. Some clients don't want to divulge how much money they have. Others don't want their children to know if their mental capabilities have declined, for fear of their kids taking too much control of financial decisions.
"Often, we can be an intermediary and help parent's talk to their children about their finances," says David Kudla, chief executive of Mainstay Capital Management, LLC in Grand Blanc, Mich. "But advisors have to be careful to go over any delicate topics with parents first."
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