"A successful business like yours potentially may provide some estate liquidity, but its inclusion in the owner's estate at death can balloon the estate tax bill for the spouse, or eventually, for the surviving children at the spouse's subsequent death. In effect, planning to use the full marital deduction at the first death only postpones the tax; it doesn't eliminate it."

Trigger questions

"Have you coordinated your business and personal assets into a single estate plan?"

"Are you taking the lifetime or after-death approach to estate planning?"

"Have you accounted for the impact that your employee benefits can have on your estate?"

"Have you accounted for the impact that a long-term nursing home confinement can have on your estate?"

Two commitments to be made before completion of fact-finding.

• "Process commitment:" Before preparing recommendations, be sure you understand your prospect's priority issue, and what he or she expects to gain from this process.

  Try this! "Is there anything we haven't covered? Would you like me to prepare a specific recommendation(s) for you to consider based on the information you've provided?"

  People will understand that they are not obligating themselves to follow your recommendations, but they are being asked to confirm the seriousness of their commitment to discussing them further.

• "Financial commitment:" Ask prospects what financial commitment they're willing to make to address their needs and wants, objectives, and concerns.

  Try this! "If we were to develop a plan that would meet the concerns you have outlined this afternoon, and do so with no real changes in your lifestyle nor substantial impact to your bottom line, you'd be pleased, wouldn't you? On the other hand, if some rearranging of your resources was necessary to achieve your objectives, what percentage of your payroll would you be willing to allocate on a regular basis to implement your plan?"