Navigating Today’s Complex Planning Environment with Carly Brooks

Doug Heikkinen: You've recently made a big leap from carrier to brokerage and now leading one of the industry's best and biggest advanced sales teams at Crump, who is the largest distributor of life insurance products. Wow. What inspired that move and how are you thinking about the impact you can make in this new role?

Carly Brooks: Thanks, Doug. So yes, it was a big move. After 10 years on the carrier side, I really started to feel this pull towards broader impact where I wanted to be closer to where the planning meets the end client and to where those real outcomes are shaped. And so what really excited me about Crump when I was looking to make that change was simply the [00:01:00] scale and sophistication, I think, of the platform that Crump offers.

So they've positioned themselves, like you said, as the largest distributor of life insurance products in the United States. And they have just an incredible depth of resources, from relationship managers to underwriters to advanced planning specialists. And what I think that allows us to do is bring truly unmatched expertise in brokerage.

It's a powerhouse. And what that does is it creates so many different opportunities for us to do things that move the needle for financial professionals and their clients. From an advanced sales lens, my vision has been, I think, pretty simple, but it's just to continue to evolve that role from being what is traditionally thought of as a technical resource to being a strategic partner for the financial professionals we work with.

So somebody that can help to drive planning innovation. And my goal, my number one goal is to strengthen producer confidence and ultimately help clients gain that clarity that they need so that they can move forward with their protection, retirement, and legacy goals. And we really don't want to just support cases. We want to help shape [00:02:00] those outcomes.

Doug Heikkinen: Excellent. so switching gears here, let's talk about the latest trends and ideas in advanced planning. What is exciting you most right now in the planning landscape?

Carly Brooks: Sure Doug. So there's so much exciting to me right now. I think this is a very exciting time really in advance planning.

There's a lot of things that are energizing me. The big one though is that clarity that we've gained from the recent legislation that we've seen with the one big beautiful bill act as it relates to large case estate planning. So for many many years there was a lot of uncertainty around exemptions.

And the tax policy that we had and that we were working with made clients, I think, very hesitant to act. And so what we are seeing today is we now have estate tax exemptions at $15 million per person. Those are historically high. And we have this idea of estate tax permanency where it's not scheduled to sunset.

So what we're seeing, I think, in light of some of those changes, is confidence return. And what that's doing is it's driving a lot of really fascinating [00:03:00] planning conversations across the wealth spectrum. We're seeing clients that are high net worth, ultra high net worth clients. They're feeling comfortable to make significant wealth transfers again.

And what that's doing is it's opening the door for strategies and conversations around different types of strategic trust planning. Things like dynasty trusts and multi-generational structures. But what we're also seeing is that those types of tools, Doug, are not just for the ultra high net worth billionaires.

What we're really seeing is we're seeing trusts utilized for, I'll say more mainstream planning, but when you think about estate planning across, again, the wealth spectrum, clients of different types of wealth profiles can use those to preserve and pass on legacies for different generations. We'll talk a little bit today about creative trust designs, but I think that's another one where you, it doesn't make sense where we've been in a world of grantor trust planning to be looking at things like non grantor trust structures to help accomplish some of those goals where you're balancing high exemptions with income tax planning. [00:04:00] Some clients might be interested in topping off some of the planning they have done. So under prior tax law where we were thinking the exemptions might sunset, some of those clients may have already gifted under prior thresholds.

And so now they have gifted assets and trusts that they may be looking to leverage with different types of strategies. So that's what's exciting me, I think from estate planning. Beyond that, individual planning, business owner strategies are going to be gaining a lot of momentum. We're talking a lot about succession planning for owners, liquidity solutions.

Executive benefit designs is a big one too. Those are all hot topics. How do you retain and reward talent? And then there are some of those niche markets too that we're working in. Things like planning for wealthy global citizens, nonprofit executives, those specialized segments where the traditional approaches we see don't always fit nicely.

There's a lot of untapped potential there as well. So I think the common thread, Doug, is that there are a lot of opportunities right now to be leading proactive conversations in advance planning and clients are ready to act. So we have tools that can help for more [00:05:00] customization than ever before, but your clients are to move forward with these plans.

Doug Heikkinen: That's a lot.

Carly Brooks: It's a lot.

Doug Heikkinen: Let's back up and talk about the big picture. We're in a unique moment in financial planning. The US is facing enormous budget deficits and growing entitlement pressures. How should financial professionals be thinking about planning in this fiscal environment? And are there risks or opportunities that could reshape how we talk to clients about long-term protection, retirement income, and legacy strategies?

Carly Brooks: Definitely. So like you said, I think there is a lot happening right now. We're living through two different historic forces, is how I sort of see it. I think we have two historic forces at once. On one hand you have the largest wealth transfer in history. And on the other hand, you have these mounting fiscal pressures that are, we're seeing talked widely about through things like federal deficits and entitlement programs and what that means.

And so I think what you're seeing is those two things are going to really interact. So when I think about the largest wealth transfer in history over the next two decades. [00:06:00] Trillions of dollars, $124 trillion according to Cerulli Associates, is going to move from baby boomers to Gen X and millennials. And that's really not just going to be numbers on a page, it's a massive shift in terms of who controls those assets.

How they're invested and then what's going to drive some of those financial decisions. At the same time, like I said, the US is running record deficits. Programs like Social Security and Medicare, you can't turn on the news without hearing about those programs, and what that uncertainty might mean for future tax policy, I think is really unclear.

But it's very possible that to help to address some of those challenges, we could see higher income tax rates, state tax rates, or even new forms of wealth transfer taxation that we have not seen before. So I think the bottom line here is that we can't assume the tax environment we have today is going to last forever.

We have to be thinking about planning with flexibility or more important adaptability is going to be really critical. That's where life insurance can play a really unique role, Doug. It's not just about protection. It can be a hedge [00:07:00] against legislative risk where we can see it used for liquidity for different needs.

Supplemental retirement income, preserving family harmony during points of transition. It's one of those few tools that we're seeing that can help to deliver certainty in what is ultimately always going to be, I think, an uncertain environment. So the Great Wealth Transfer is not just about changing hands, it's about reshaping planning conversations for the next generation.

Thinking about things like legacy objectives, family governance, using trust structures to help guide those. And, I think my prediction is for 2026 we're going to see a real shift in those conversations from just estate tax planning to true legacy planning and leaning into that can help you stay ahead of the curve.

Doug Heikkinen: I was smiling during your last answer because I don't think in this environment we can assume anything. So all that is great, but let's unpack it a little. Even with high exemptions, why does life insurance remain central to estate planning?

Carly Brooks: Sure. That's right Doug. You can never assume anything when it comes to planning, but you know, I think when you're talking about life insurance and [00:08:00] estate planning, those two things are always going to go hand in hand.

Even with historically high exemptions, we have life insurance. I predict will continue to play a critical role and here's why. So first and foremost, ILITs themselves, those irrevocable life insurance trusts that we use to often own life insurance policies, still really matter when I think when we think about control and flexibility and how you want to shape your family legacy. ILITs can do that in a way that really other structures just can't.

So they're very valuable in the broader picture. But then when you try to unpack sort of why is life insurance itself so integral today? You know, I think for me, it comes down to, again, this idea of liquidity. When an estate needs to settle taxes or fund business succession plans or equalize inheritances, liquidity is always going to be essential.

And in my practice, I don't think I've ever seen an estate plan where more liquidity was a bad thing. Everyone can always use more liquidity, and without it, you can be in really challenging planning situations. So you don't [00:09:00] want your clients to be in a place where now they have to fire sale assets under pressure.

Or do things that just don't always achieve what the ultimate planning goals are and can often have a desire to be preserving value, maximum value, and preserving harmony as well. I also think life insurance, when we talk about other types of planning we talk so much about the federal state tax, but several states, I think it's 12 plus DC still impose state level taxes, a couple more have inheritance taxes. So even though those federal exemptions feel really generous right now, state level exposure for certain clients can be significant. Life insurance can help to cover those obligations. And then beyond taxes, thinking about things like creditor protection, many states, and people sometimes forget this, many states offer favorable creditor protection of both life insurance, death benefit, and in many cases cash value as well. And so what that can do is it can help to protect against, different types of creditor claims that, your clients may have. So I think there's a lot going on here.

In a high [00:10:00] exemption environment, life insurance is about much more than just helping to pay for estate taxes. It's really about that idea of creating certainty, preserving values, preserving harmony, and then whatever your client's big picture legacy goals are, life insurance can be a helpful component of those plans.

Doug Heikkinen: You mentioned trust planning and the trends that you're seeing. How is that all evolving?

Carly Brooks: Yeah, so there's a lot here as well, Doug. I think that trust planning is always fun for me. It's my sort of my wheelhouse and I think what we're seeing, a few things evolve in the trust landscape in some really interesting ways.

So first is for high net worth clients, high net worth families, funding grantor dynasty trust with life insurance, I think is a trend that we're continuing to see. And how you fund that can be done in different types of ways through straight gifting. In some cases we might be looking at techniques like loans or split dollar to fund the trust.

But allowing clients to lock in today's exemptions to create these multi-generational wealth structures is hugely [00:11:00] important to a lot of clients. And that goes again, back to I think not just tax planning, but also values based planning where the trust structure can help to effectuate different family goals that someone might have, regardless of what their net worth is, if you're looking to create some of those things that can last for decades.

We're also, I teased this at the beginning, seeing a resurgence of non grantor trusts for strategic income tax planning, especially for clients in some of those high tax states that want to potentially use trust structures to be able to capitalize on additional deductions and things like that.

So some of those flexibility, that's been an interesting trend that we've been noticing. And then beyond that, some of the things we've been talking about, so flexible trust drafting. Things like asset swap provisions, spousal access provisions. Keeping those plans adaptable. I just was working on a case the other day where we were able to leverage a trust protector to get some really creative planning done. So thinking about how you're drafting those trusts today to enable future changes, [00:12:00] should they be necessary, whether tax laws change financial situations change, or simply goals change. A couple other examples too that I would say, Doug. I love the ability to use trust to preserve different types of what I call heirloom assets.

So preserving family assets, things like vacation homes are a great example that can come up. I worked with a family many many years ago that, they had this home on Cape Cod, and it was this beloved family home, and you had, but there was, there was constant conflict because some of the, two of the children were always there.

Some were never there. Some were paying for the upkeep. Those types of things can take something that, like, I think if you were to ask your clients, what's something that you want to keep in the family? That's the property that's always going to be like, that's the one we want to keep. But if you don't have a plan in place, it can really quickly become a sense of conflict.

And so, a trust structure can dictate sort of how you not only, not only who's going to handle the maintenance, but also how are you going to pay for it. [00:13:00] So I love that idea. Incentive trusts in general, just to motivate certain types of behaviors also I think are key. And then the other one that I'll mention is what I call a permission slip concept.

So this is that idea that you could actually fund a trust with life insurance. At a set amount, set death benefit amount. So then that way if your clients are concerned that maybe they'll outlive their primary retirement assets, you know you have this trust that's preserved for your children to fund an inheritance.

And that's really, I think, impactful for some clients because then they feel like they have this quote unquote permission slip to spend freely in their own retirement. So I like that. So, long story short, I think I covered a lot of different things, but trust planning is not just about tax minimization. It's really about family governance, flexibility, and creating confidence so that clients can live their lives fully while also protecting their legacies.

Doug Heikkinen: There's so much there and so much to know. My goodness. Let's talk about income tax and retirement planning. [00:14:00] What should advisors be thinking about beyond estate taxes?

Carly Brooks: Sure. So tax, income tax planning is always top of mind for many of the clients that we work with. Really critical today, we always want to be talking or at least thinking about tax diversification. Things like Roth conversions, those are always going to be valuable tools. So when we're talking about managing your lifetime tax liability, that's going to be really key.

For a lot of the clients that we work with too, Doug, I find they're also business owners. And so when you're talking about the business planning that they need, it goes beyond just succession planning. It's also about creating liquidity for, you know, what types of entity structures make the most sense. Thinking about how to design benefits to help reward and retain key talent.

There's income tax efficiencies that can be explored in those strategies as well. And those can really make a huge difference when you're talking about the value and stability of a business over time. And then when we think about using life insurance in the context of [00:15:00] supplemental retirement income, we can think about things like cash value strategies to provide tax advantaged income streams and help to add some of that flexibility and security and a client's retirement plan. I think of life insurance and retirement plan, the best way I can describe it, is as a retirement backstop where you have your retirement assets and all of those tools that you've set up and you can use life insurance to actually round out that plan.

So it can be a self-completing portfolio should you pass away while you're still trying to fund that retirement plan, it can, the death benefit provides protection to your family. But then if you outlive your primary retirement assets for whatever reason, the cash value could potentially be accessed to supplement income.

So having different sources of income that have different tax characteristics can be a real game changer for clients.

Doug Heikkinen: All right. Let's, end with maybe your final three thoughts on 2026 or anything you want to talk about, and then how can Crump help advisors [00:16:00] think through all this stuff?

Carly Brooks: Sure. So my final three thoughts.

So I'll say first and foremost, the one thing I always remind everyone that I talk to is that, especially when we talk about estate planning and permanency and how exciting that is, that permanent does not always mean permanent, especially in Washington in, you know, when we're thinking about Washington, DC permanent usually just means until the next election.

So, while today's exemptions do feel very generous, and they are, and they do feel stable, and they are, I remind people that deficits and politics can shift and we, what we're planning with today might not be what we're planning with in the future.

And so I say that in mind to say that we do have confidence that we should move forward with planning, but create that adaptability and plan with what we have today. So that would be sort of point number one. I think point number two is that as we're looking ahead to 2026, we, as we are entering a period of clarity, that's going to open the door for strategies like dynasty trusts, ILITs, advanced income tax planning, all of those sorts of things.

And with that clarity [00:17:00] comes a lot of confidence. And so now is the time to help clients act. So thinking about the urgency there. And my follow up to that is that waiting can really mean missed opportunities. And I don't just mean changing tax laws, it also can mean changes to your health and your age.

And so if you're thinking about incorporating life insurance as part of your financial plan, it often can be, now is the best time to do that. Because we just don't know what will happen with those other factors and unknowns. And then last but not least, Doug, you asked how the Crump team can help.

So I think from, my perspective, we really are here to partner with you. Our entire team is here to partner with financial professionals from beginning stages of client and opportunity development through the entire client journey. What we want to do is help you assist in getting that coverage and plan in place and working with our team can help you again, gain that confidence to explore some of those advanced strategies and unlock some new opportunities.

So please reach out if there's anything we can do to help support your practice.

Doug Heikkinen: Carly, that was [00:18:00] just packed with information and Fantastic. Thank you so much for being with us.

Carly Brooks: Of course, it was my pleasure. Thank you for having me

Doug Heikkinen: For more information about Crump Life Insurance services, please visit crump.com. We are on all social media platforms @Advisorpedia. Please give us a follow. For our producer Tory Miller and everyone at Advisorpedia, thank you so much for listening.