Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, but it isn’t always the case. In addition to hard-copy paperwork, policies, bank statements, safety deposit boxes, you name it …now digital estate planning must be added to the end-of-life mix.
Everplans, an “online life planning and organizing platform,” recently released Everplans Professional to help keep it all straight. It’s an online service for financial advisors, insurance agents, estate planning attorneys and CPAs. According to Abby Schneiderman, the firm’s co-Founder and co-CEO, it provides the additional tools needed to help clients organize, store and share all their legal, financial, healthcare, personal and digital information—all in one place
“Everplans Professional addresses an increasing demand from advisors to deepen and diversify their relationship with clients and, at the same time, ensure clients are ready for the future,” Schneiderman said. “Financial advisors can now augment their portfolio management and leverage our deep expertise and leading-edge technology to offer more holistic planning to their clients.”
Unfortunately, the idea was born of tragedy, as Schneiderman recently experienced firsthand the confusion and emotional angst that accompanies the sudden death of a loved one and settlement of their estate.
“The platform originally started as strictly a content resource, with articles and links for people going through this,” she explained. “We then saw the need for this kind of an organizational tool, and launched a consumer product in March 2014. It allows for them to see where they are in the planning and organizational process.”
Advisors and other financial professionals utilizing the Everplans Professional platform will have the opportunity to create a co-branded, customized plan and to work with their clients step-by-step. Once completed, clients will have a secure bank-level encrypted online environment to keep everything – including important documents, account numbers, passwords, and personal letters.
“With the rise of robo-advisors and digital asset management, personal financial advisors, attorneys, insurance agents and CPAs are continually looking for innovative opportunities,” added Schneiderman. “Advisors love that Everplans Professional gives them yet another reason to pick up the phone, connect with their clients, and add value.”
Schneiderman, who described herself as “a repeat tech entrepreneur,” emphasized that the platform was built with security as a top priority. The site utilizes two-step verification during the login process, and all personal information on the platform is encrypted and protected with bank-level security.
She certainly knows of what she speaks. Prior to co-founding Everplans, Schneiderman was a Principal at Tipping Point Partners, a NYC start-up incubator, where she was part of the team that launched several businesses, including AppOrchard, an iOS consultancy for the enterprise, and Cookstr, a recipe-driven nutritional technology company that was acquired by Macmillan in 2014. In 2004, she co-founded Haystack Media, one of the first music social networks.