Securing Your Legacy: The Missing Link in Employee Benefits with Curtis Vincent

Curtis Vincent, CHRO at The Estate Registry, offers a fascinating look at how digital estate management is transforming employee benefits packages and addressing a critical gap in financial wellness programs.

The days of the fireproof lockbox stuffed with important papers are long behind us. As Curtis explains, modern employees lead increasingly complex digital lives with countless online accounts and digital assets that require organization and protection. Legacy Now provides a secure, intuitive platform that not only stores traditional estate planning documents but also preserves family legacies through digital photographs and videos that can be passed down through generations.

What makes digital estate management particularly valuable is its relevance to employees at every career stage. Curtis challenges the notion that estate planning only benefits those approaching retirement. "Almost everybody, regardless of age or net worth, has something worth protecting," he notes. For younger professionals, the platform offers organization around guardianship arrangements, documentation of existing benefits like 401(k)s and insurance policies, and the foundation for building their own legacies. By centralizing important information, these tools alleviate the stress and anxiety that come with managing complex financial lives, allowing employees to focus better at work.

For HR professionals considering implementation, Curtis recommends prioritizing cybersecurity, user support capabilities, and ease of administration. Start by gauging employee interest, arranging demonstrations, educating HR teams about the probate process, and carefully reviewing options. Ready to transform your benefits package with this missing piece of financial security? Connect with Curtis on LinkedIn or visit Estate Registry's website to explore how digital estate management can enhance your employee wellbeing strategy.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's
most downloaded and sharedpodcasts designed for HR pros,
talent execs, tech enthusiastsand business leaders.
For hundreds more episodes andwhat's new in the world of work,
subscribe to the show, followus on social media and visit
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Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to another episode of the HR Chat Show.
Hello listeners, this is yourhost today, bill Bannum, and
joining me on the show this timeI've got a newbie, I've got a
first-timer is the awesomeCurtis Vincent CHRO, over at the
Estate Registry, a digitalestate management provider that
utilizes cloud-based tools andservices for intergenerational

(00:49):
estate management, and I thinkI'm right in saying that our
mutual connection.
Who got us here today?
Curtis is the awesome.
Jeff Wald, is that right?
I believe so.

Speaker 3 (00:59):
I believe so.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
So a big shout out to you.
Jeff, thank you very much forthe intro and, curtis, thank you
for joining me on the showtoday.
How are you doing, hey, bill?

Speaker 3 (01:07):
I'm doing well.
Thank you, happy Monday.
Good to be on the show andthanks for the invite.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yes, indeed, we are recording this on a beautiful
spring Monday, and why don't youstart, curtis, by taking a
minute or two and introducingyourself to our audience?

Speaker 3 (01:22):
Yeah, happy to.
I'm Curtis Fenton.
I'm joining you today fromWilmington, Delaware, which is
the corporate headquarters ofthe Estate Registry.
I don't live far from here.
I grew up and now live inNewark, Delaware, with well, I'm
married, have two boys, a puppydog that live with me.
Like this time of year, we tryto spend some time outside, so

(01:47):
forcing me in for a little bitof a podcast today but looking
forward to chatting about LegacyNow and what it has to offer.

Speaker 4 (01:50):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the HR Chat
Podcast.
If you enjoy the audio contentwe produce, you'll love our
articles on the HR Gazette.
Learn more at HRGazettecom.
And now back to the show Okay.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
well then, let's get into it.
As there has been a rise indigital estate planning, how
does Legacy now differentiateitself from traditional estate
planning services?

Speaker 3 (02:18):
And, as part of that, what unique benefits does it
provide?
Yeah, that's a good question.
You know, when you talk abouttraditional estate planning
resources, I think you're kindof referring to the fireproof
lockbox and mom and dad's coatcloset, where they now try to
shove everything that they haveinto one small place to make our
lives a little bit easier whenit comes to them passing things
on.
But you know, things havemodernized quite a bit To your

(02:40):
point.
There's several options outthere when it comes to digital
estate planning.
Quite a bit To your point,there's several options out
there when it comes to digitalestate planning, I feel legacy
now checks the vast majority, ifnot all, of the boxes.
I think, first and foremost,it's easy to use.
Even persons like myself findit intuitive.
I don't need a user manual.
I don't have to spend time onthe phone with support, which
makes life a little bit easierfor me.
It's adaptable as well, able tochange and grow and expand as a

(03:05):
person's life changes, growsand expands and is able to
capture all those things.
I think, personally, Imentioned mom and dad's
fireproof safe.
I think what's unique about itis, aside from being a storing
house for things like wills andother important documents,
there's also areas we've createdto really protect family legacy
, family history, whether it'sdigital photographs or digital

(03:26):
videos that women want to passdown from generation to
generation.
Find ways to work that into thetechnology too.
So some of the traditionalestate planning stuff is there,
but then some of the let's callit cutting edge estate planning
services and strategies havebeen built into.

Speaker 5 (03:41):
This episode of the HR Chat Podcast is supported by
Nebula Academy, a technologyindustry-focused workforce
accelerator that offers learningprograms to prepare individuals
for successful careers.
Our approach is centered aroundcognitive neuroscience research
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(04:03):
experiences.
Our programs enable individuals.

Speaker 2 (04:05):
Thank you, why do you believe digital estate planning

(04:29):
is the missing piece, then, inemployee financial security and
how does it tie into overallfinancial wellness?
And I guess also as part ofthat answer, maybe you can share
some examples of the stressesand the anxieties that employees
can feel when they don't feellike their financials are well

(04:49):
looked after.

Speaker 3 (04:51):
Yeah, no, you make some good points there, Bill.
I think you know why it's themissing piece.
I think, ultimately, employeesare looking for, you know,
benefits that align with theirpersonal goals, whether it's
wealth attainment, or whetherit's developing a family or
whether it's, you know,establishing a personal legacy.
If they're a little bit furtheron in their careers, they want
benefits that align with them,and this is an example of that.

(05:14):
You know, in some of themarkets that I've run across,
there's things like salarysacrifice for EV cars or to
purchase a bicycle to supportwellness or health that way, and
we see this very much the same.
You mentioned the stressesaround employees' lives.
We all live relatively complexlives nowadays.
Aside from the regular thingslike being parents or being an

(05:36):
employee, there's also just, Imean, for me personally, there's
a million different onlineaccounts, a million different
online registries.
We're trying to live our liveskind of duplicitously in a
variety of different ways, andit makes things somewhat complex
.
But having a tool like LegacyNow to bring organization to
that not only keeps everythingin a safe, secure location but

(05:59):
also alleviates some of thestress that builds when we're
trying to live our livessimultaneously in so many places
.
So employee well-being yes,certainly is a byproduct of it.
We find that employees that arefreeing themselves of stresses
are usually able to focus alittle bit more on the job at
hand, and we hope that LegacyNow is a tool to help them do
that.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
Okay, thank you very much.
What are some of the key thingsthat employers should look for,
then, when deciding on whichdigital estate management tools
they want to incorporate intotheir employee benefits packages
?

Speaker 3 (06:33):
Yeah, I think there's a few things that I would take
a look at specifically.
I mean, we're talking aboutlegacy now being a storing house
of everything that's importantto an employee, so cybersecurity
and maintaining a digitalprotection environment is very
important.
I, as an HR professional, wouldvet that very thoroughly before
moving forward with an estateplanning tool, because it does

(06:55):
really encompass an employee'stotal life.
I think user support abilityfor the employees themselves to
get questions answered when theyneed to, or even be provided
with strategies that helped themto better utilize the
technology I think is animportant side of it too.
And then ease of administrationis always a question for the HR
teams.
Whenever an employee benefit isimplemented, one of the first

(07:16):
questions I get from my team isyou know what's the internal
lift and what's required?
So you know.
Typically, those questions areasked in most benefit platforms
that are being vetted by HR, andI don't think legacy now is any
different.

Speaker 6 (07:30):
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my staff shop, the UK's onlyemployee owned employee benefit
provider.
We provide a range ofcompetitive and flexible
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(07:51):
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We pride ourselves on ourfriendly and collaborative way
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Learn more at mystaffshopcom.

Speaker 2 (08:06):
Thanks, and now back to the HR chat show okay, okay,
thank you, uh, by the way, doinga sterling job.
Listeners, this is Curtis'sfirst time doing a podcast,
isn't he good?
We have to get him on again.
I think, uh, curtis, manyemployees perceive estate
planning as complicated orsomething that they'll handle
later.

(08:26):
Uh, why do you think it'simperative for employees to
proactively plan, and whatadvice do you have to employers
to get this message across, tomake them, to help them, make
their employees understand thatthey need to get on this now?

Speaker 3 (08:43):
Yeah, again, another good question, Bill.
I mean, ultimately, one wouldassume that a tool like this is
aimed and targeted for thoseemployees that are nearing their
retirement age, that havealready accumulated assets, have
already built their wealth, butthere's some real value to it
even for employees that arenewer or younger in their
careers.
I think, in reality, almosteverybody, regardless of age or

(09:03):
net worth, has something worthprotecting.
It doesn't have to be monstrous, it doesn't have to be huge,
but there's certain things I'vementioned digital photographs
and important documents Eventhose have value protecting over
the course of one's career.
I think you know you think ofestate planning oftentimes as
being how one passes wealth fromone generation to the next.

(09:23):
But I think there's also valuein ensuring that, as a younger
professional, things like mychildren's legacies are starting
to be built, that I havecontrol over things like
guardianship if and whensomething bad were to happen.
I think it just brings some ofthat organization to life.
I think, aside from that, youknow, employers should correlate
it to make it worthwhile to theyounger professionals.

(09:45):
I think it's important thatthey correlate it to existing
benefits.
Most employers are offering a401k or some type of life
insurance or long or short termdisability.
These are all great benefitsand having a consolidated
location for the details of andthe true value of those benefits
to be stored has some realimportance, I think.

(10:06):
So, correlating to thosebenefits, I think financial
wellness and workshops arealways a good idea.
Oftentimes those, at certainpoints, can correlate back to
the idea of estate planning, andthen I think it's also just
fostering within the business anenvironment that values
proactive planning.
You know, talking to employeesabout not just today but

(10:26):
tomorrow sometimes helps tosolidify their loyalty to the
employer but also helps toprepare that employee for the
next phases and stages of theirlife, both in and out of the
business.

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(11:00):
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Speaker 2 (11:09):
Learn more at disrupthrco and for employees
sorry for employers looking tointegrate estate planning and
and options such as legacy nowinto their benefits package.
What are the most importantfirst steps that they should
take?
What does that firstconversation look like with you

(11:30):
guys?
How can they get things going?

Speaker 3 (11:33):
yeah, I think it starts with engaging their
employee interest.
Not to say that surveys alwayshave to happen, but it's good to
know what their employees arewanting or desiring within the
benefit package.
When it comes to the productitself Legacy Now, yeah, there's
plenty of opportunity fordemonstrations of how the
technology works.
I think it's important, for,before considering any solution,

(11:56):
I think it's important for theHR teams to learn the probate
process and understandthemselves the value that it
would hold and bring to theiremployees.
I think that helps with theadvocacy as well.
So, educating the group,educating the team and then,
last but not least, reviewingthe options carefully.
I've already mentioned the ideaof data and cybersecurity.
I think that's an importantthing to evaluate at the very

(12:18):
top of that list, then followedby ease of use, intuition within
the technology, really thebenefits of it separate from
those that are in themarketplace.
I think it makes sense forpeople to weigh those sense for
people to weigh those.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
We are flying through this.
I've just got one more questionfor you.
For now, curtis, it's a doozy.
That is, how can our listenersconnect with you?
And now, how can they learnmore about all the cool things
that your team gets up to?

Speaker 3 (12:44):
Yeah, no, thank you for the question.
You know we're starting toshare a lot more externally
through media about Legacy Nowand the other state registry
products In the works.
Right now are a few articlesthat I participated in that they
get a little more informationabout the technology, about the
tool, about the benefit as an HRprofessional would see it.
I'm also very active onLinkedIn.

(13:06):
We as a business, try to makesure that updates are provided
there regularly, so keep an eyeon myself and or the state
registry group as we put outmore and more information about
legacy now and the otherproducts that are still to come
rock and roll.

Speaker 2 (13:19):
That just leaves me to say for today curtis vincent,
you are a superstar, you're anatural.
I feel like this might be a newcareer for you.
Sir um, we'll definitely getyou back on this and I'll
probably bother you for someother pods I'm involved with as
well, but but for today, thankyou very much for being my guest
.

Speaker 3 (13:36):
My pleasure, bill Great, being here.
Take care and I hope to talksoon.

Speaker 2 (13:41):
And listeners as always.
Until next time, happy working.

Speaker 1 (13:48):
Thanks for listening to the HR Chat Show.
If you enjoyed this episode,why not subscribe and listen to
some of the hundreds of episodespublished by HR Gazette and
remember for what's new in theworld of work?
Subscribe to the show, followus on social media and visit
hrgazettecom.