IFA Estate Planning Revenue: How Much Can You Really Earn?

Setting the right prices is crucial. As an IFA, you already understand value-based pricing — estate planning follows the same principle. You're not selling documents; you're selling peace of mind and asset protection.

Standard pricing for estate planning services:

Wills:

• •Single will: £200–£400
• •Mirror wills (couples): £300–£550
• •Complex will (trusts, business assets): £400–£800

Lasting Powers of Attorney:

• •Single LPA (property or health): £200–£350
• •LPA pair (property + health): £350–£600
• •Couple LPA set (4 LPAs total): £600–£1,000

Trusts:

• •Property protection trust: £500–£1,200
• •Life interest trust: £600–£1,500
• •Discretionary trust: £800–£2,000
• •Family trust arrangement: £1,000–£3,000+

Comprehensive packages (most popular):

• •Wills + LPAs for individual: £500–£900
• •Wills + LPAs for couple: £800–£1,400
• •Full estate plan (wills + LPAs + trust): £1,200–£3,000+

Pricing tips for IFAs:

• •Position at the premium end — your IFA credentials justify higher prices
• •Bundle services — packages increase average case value significantly
• •Don't compete on price — compete on expertise and the holistic service you provide
• •Review pricing annually — most IFAs undercharge initially and increase as confidence grows

Here's what estate planning revenue looks like at different levels of commitment. These figures assume you're working with your existing IFA client base.

Level 1: Light touch (2 cases/month)

• •Target: Include estate planning in some annual reviews
• •Average case value: £600
• •Monthly revenue: £1,200
• •Annual revenue: £14,400
• •Time commitment: ~8 hours/month

Level 2: Moderate (4 cases/month)

• •Target: Proactively raise estate planning with all clients
• •Average case value: £750
• •Monthly revenue: £3,000
• •Annual revenue: £36,000
• •Time commitment: ~16 hours/month

Level 3: Active (8 cases/month)

• •Target: Estate planning is a core part of your advice process
• •Average case value: £900
• •Monthly revenue: £7,200
• •Annual revenue: £86,400
• •Time commitment: ~32 hours/month

Level 4: Specialist (12+ cases/month)

• •Target: Estate planning is a major practice revenue driver
• •Average case value: £1,100
• •Monthly revenue: £13,200+
• •Annual revenue: £158,400+
• •Time commitment: ~48 hours/month (may need support)

Most IFAs start at Level 1–2 and naturally move to Level 2–3 within 12 months as estate planning becomes embedded in their advice process. Level 4 typically requires dedicated marketing and possibly a team member.

Key insight: Even at Level 1 — just 2 cases per month — estate planning adds £14,400 to your practice revenue. That's meaningful income for minimal time investment.

One of the most compelling arguments for IFAs adding estate planning is how the revenue compares to your existing income streams.

Trail commission reality:

• •Average ongoing adviser charge: 0.5–1% of AUM
• •Client with £200,000 portfolio: £1,000–£2,000/year in trail
• •Building trail commission is slow — it takes years to accumulate meaningful recurring revenue
• •Trail is vulnerable to market downturns, client departures, and fee compression

Estate planning fees:

• •One estate planning case at £800: immediate one-off revenue
• •No dependency on market performance
• •No ongoing service obligation (until client wants to update)
• •Fee paid at completion — no 6-month waiting periods

The hybrid advantage:

| Income source | Year 1 | Year 3 | Year 5 |

|---|---|---|---|

| Trail commission (growing AUM) | £20,000 | £45,000 | £75,000 |

| Estate planning (4 cases/month) | £36,000 | £42,000 | £48,000 |

| Combined | £56,000 | £87,000 | £123,000 |

Estate planning provides immediate cash flow while your trail commission builds over time. The two income streams complement each other perfectly:

• •Trail = recurring, growing, market-dependent
• •Estate planning = immediate, case-based, market-independent

During market downturns (when trail commission drops and clients are nervous), estate planning revenue stays stable. People always need wills and LPAs regardless of what the FTSE is doing.

Estate planning has a unique characteristic that most IFAs don't expect: it generates referrals at a much higher rate than traditional financial advice.

Why estate planning drives referrals:

• •It's a topic people talk about — "We just got our wills done" is common dinner party conversation
• •It touches family members directly — adult children, parents, siblings all get mentioned
• •It creates urgency in others — "If they've done theirs, I should do mine"
• •Clients feel genuinely grateful — estate planning often brings real peace of mind

Typical referral rates:

• •Standard IFA client: generates 0.5–1 referral per year
• •IFA client who also does estate planning: generates 1.5–2.5 referrals per year
• •Estate planning roughly doubles your referral rate

The multiplier in practice:

Start with 4 estate planning clients per month:

• •Month 1: 4 clients → 2 referrals for estate planning + 1 referral for IFA services
• •Month 3: 6 clients (4 direct + 2 referrals) → 3 more referrals
• •Month 6: 8+ clients from growing referral base
• •Month 12: pipeline is largely self-sustaining

Critical point: Many referrals from estate planning clients become IFA clients too. When someone comes to you for a will and discovers you also do financial planning, a significant percentage will consolidate their finances with you. Estate planning becomes a client acquisition channel for your core IFA business.

This is why the revenue projections above tend to be conservative — they don't account for the IFA business that estate planning referrals generate.

Estate planning has exceptionally high profit margins compared to most IFA activities. Here's the full cost picture:

Annual fixed costs:

• •PI insurance: £300–£500
• •Professional body membership: £200–£400
• •Software (WILLO): £150/month
• •ICO registration: £40
• •Total: approximately £1,890–£2,290/year

Per-case variable costs:

• •Document storage: negligible (digital)
• •Printing/binding: £5–£15 per case
• •Travel (if visiting clients): £5–£20 per case
• •Total: approximately £10–£35 per case

Profit margin calculation:

For a typical case at £800:

• •Revenue: £800
• •Variable costs: ~£20
• •Allocated fixed costs: ~£10 (spread across 80 cases/year)
• •Net profit: ~£770 (96% margin)

Compare this to IFA advice:

• •Typical IFA case: initial fee £1,000
• •Compliance costs, platform fees, paraplanning: £200–£400
• •Net margin: 60–80%

Estate planning delivers margins of 90–96% because there are no platform fees, no paraplanning costs, no fund charges, and no ongoing compliance reporting. Your time is the primary cost — and with experience, case completion gets faster.

Break-even analysis: Your fixed costs of ~£700/year are covered by your first one or two cases. Everything after that is almost pure profit.

Here's how to optimise your estate planning revenue from day one:

Price for value, not time:

• •Don't charge by the hour — charge by the service
• •Package wills + LPAs together for higher case values
• •Position trusts as premium services with premium pricing
• •Your IFA credentials justify higher prices than a standalone will writer

Mine your existing client base:

• •Segment your clients by estate planning need (property owners, parents, retirees)
• •Include estate planning in every annual review
• •Send a targeted campaign to clients approaching retirement (LPAs are critical)
• •Follow up after any life event (new property, marriage, divorce, death in family)

Embed estate planning in your process:

• •Add estate planning questions to your fact-find
• •Include a "legacy planning" section in your advice reports
• •Make estate planning part of your new client onboarding
• •Review estate planning at every annual review

Track and improve:

• •Monitor your conversion rate from IFA review to estate planning case
• •Track average case values and look for upselling opportunities
• •Measure referral rates from estate planning clients
• •Set monthly targets and review quarterly

The free Become an Estate Planner training gives you everything you need to start generating estate planning revenue. Most IFAs complete the training in 4–8 weeks and take their first case within 2 months.

Start your free training today and see how much estate planning can add to your practice revenue.