After the meeting, the advisor provides a wrap-up report. Create and distribute a summary (meeting minutes) that highlights decisions reached and actions to be taken. Include a schedule of accountability showing responsible parties and deadlines.
In contrast with the quantifiable benefits of hard-core technical advice, the results of soft-side tools such as the family meeting qualify as touchy-feely. Diesslin, the planner in Fort Worth, says, "You (advisor) can get a lot of comfort from knowing that you have set something up with buy-in from the recipients and that everybody was heard. I feel at peace that we've done what needs to be done."
For the family, there's togetherness (hopefully). Clients also accrue other intangibles, deriving specifically from the minutes you write up. "The summary helps the family see the progress that they have made. It's a marker that gives the family a sense of accomplishment, and that's a very big deal," Willis says, especially for inheritors. "Many inheritors are not that good at focusing on accomplishments-achieving them, reflecting on them, and acknowledging them. That's a skill which a lot of inheritors haven't learned, but it's an important skill, and it's something that you can give to the client."