When estate planning attorney Hannah Keller started her career in Houston, each of her colleagues belonged to a group of financial planning professionals. But after her husband’s job relocated her back to Baton Rouge, her options for a similar group were lacking.
With her office neighbor Riley Huntington, the duo formed The Red Stick Estate and Finance Council, where estate planning industry professionals can educate each other on industry topics, network and create camaraderie among estate planners in Baton Rouge. Huntington and Keller said the council provides a space for people in their mid-20s to mid-30s in estate planning that did not previously exist in Baton Rouge.
“There’s just not that many people around our age or even right above us that practice in this area,” Huntington said.
She and Keller are both associate attorneys for Koch St. Martin, a tax and estate planning law firm, and graduates of LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center.
Baton Rouge is home to one other estate planning association, the Baton Rouge Estate and Business Planning Council, which prohibits more than two partners from the same firm joining the group. Koch St. Martin’s two slots were already filled, so Huntington and Keller took it upon themselves to create the network they were seeking.
The Red Stick council consists of estate planning attorneys like Huntington and Keller, as well as financial advisors, CPAs and employees of charitable organizations. The co-founders said they want a diverse array of disciplines represented from the estate planning process, to forge connections between members for their clients.
“Having familiarity with the people you send your clients to is huge,” Keller said.
The group has had two meetings so far, the first in March and the second this month, and plans to meet every quarter. Starting with 15 attendees at the first meeting, composed of Huntington and Keller’s existing connections, the group has more than doubled to over 40 attendees at the second meeting.
“It’s something we were missing in our practice experience, and I think we felt that a lot of people felt that way. So now it just keeps growing every time,” Keller said.
Benjamin Johnson, an associate wealth adviser for the Olivier Group, attended the council’s first two meetings and said the group can help its members stay ahead of industry changes.
He said groups for young professionals can help members network and develop their careers.
“Being in a room of 30 emerging people in their fields can’t really hurt your chances of possibly getting in the room with one of their bosses,” he said.
Savannah Kelleher, a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, attended the first two meetings of the council to connect with younger estate planning attorneys. She discusses estate planning with all her clients and prefers to refer them to attorneys she is close with.
Most estate planners and financial advisors are in their 60s, she said, and when they retire their younger clients may need to find another attorney. Younger attorneys and advisors will then have to take on more clients from the retiring attorneys.
Kelleher said the age gap among those in wealth and estate planning may be a result of older clients seeking out attorneys and advisors closer to their age and the misconception that estate planning is only for old age.
“It’s not just about death, it’s about securing your wealth and planning for your future at all ages,” she said.
