The Forward Digest: September 2026
Issue #2
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Welcome back. Each month we share what’s new at Forward, update you on new FAM features, introduce the Advisors and Businesses joining the Forward Neighborhood, and pass along the estate-planning news worth knowing.
From the CEO
Catch Bryan in Pasadena — our CEO speaks at Innovate Pasadena’s Friday Coffee Meetup on Friday, September 11, 8:30 AM PT at FoundrSpace: Scaling SaaS Right Now: Lessons from the Frontlines. RSVP for the Friday Coffee Meetup →
Coming soon: a new podcast from Forward. Bryan is sitting down with advisors, attorneys, and families for honest conversations about what actually happens when wealth and responsibility pass between generations. We’re building the guest list now — email stewards@forwardinheritance.com and tell us who you’d like to hear from.
September is National Preparedness Month
30%
of U.S. adults have safeguarded their important documents. FEMA, 2023 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness — 7,604 respondents
FEMA’s theme this year is “Americans Stand Ready.” Most preparedness checklists cover water, batteries, and a go-bag. Paperwork is often forgotten — and it’s the part that’s hardest to rebuild.
We saw this close to home. The Eaton and Palisades fires destroyed more than 16,000 homes and buildings (Cal Fire). Twenty months on, Los Angeles County still runs a program helping survivors replace what burned — birth certificates, deeds, Social Security cards, passports, vehicle titles. When the house goes, the paperwork goes with it.
Documents you’ve already secured are documents you never have to replace.
Take 20 minutes this month:
- Upload your property deeds, vehicle titles, and insurance policies.
- Add vital records, IDs, and your current powers of attorney and healthcare directives.
- Make sure at least one other person has access to them.
Pick up where you left off in FAM
What’s New in FAM (Family Asset Manager)
A big month, headlined by one change we’ve been working toward all year.
FAM now speaks Spanish. We finished localizing the app, the marketing site, and Stewie — our support assistant — so Spanish-speaking families can use Forward in their own language. Estate planning is hard enough without a language barrier in the middle of it.
Also shipped in August:
- Asset and Document explainers, right where you need them.
- A rebuilt move-in experience that walks you through setup step by step.
- Better lists — new view modes, updated filters, and richer document cards.
- Document roles and permissions for clearer control over who sees what.
New in the Forward Neighborhood
The Neighborhood is where Forward members find vetted Advisors and Businesses. In August we welcomed four new Businesses and three new Advisors:
New Businesses
New Advisors
Neighborhood Spotlight
Fiduciary Wealth Management
A trusted advisor firm is now recommending Forward to all their clients.
Wealth Advisors Who Care announced this month that they’re bringing FAM to the families they serve. Three words sit at the top of their practice — Objectivity. Integrity. Fiduciary. — and the last one does the most work while getting explained the least: a fiduciary is legally required to put your interests ahead of their own. A firm holding itself to that standard doesn’t put a tool in front of its clients casually.
Tony Adamo, AIF® and Chris Ritacca, AIF® joined the Neighborhood this summer, and their clients now have the same organized starting point you do.
Industry & Legal Update
The shift toward electronic estate documents keeps picking up speed.
- Missouri’s Electronic Wills and Trusts Act took effect January 1, 2026. Missouri now recognizes electronic wills with a secured, traceable digital signature, allows witnesses to sign remotely by approved video, and extends remote online notarization to powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and certain trusts.
- New York’s Electronic Wills Act is still on the horizon — it doesn’t take effect until December 12, 2027. Until then, traditional paper wills with proper witnessing remain the standard for New Yorkers.
- Digital assets are the biggest blind spot. Nearly half of Americans — 48% — have no instructions for what happens to their online accounts and files (Trust & Will, 2026). A modern plan should name someone to manage them, without putting passwords in the will itself.
Follow the LIVE Coalition for ongoing legal updates and ways to get involved.
This is general information, not legal advice. Laws vary by state and change often, so consult a qualified attorney for your situation.
Get Involved
- Refer a friend or family member so everyone gets a plan.
- RSVP for Bryan’s Innovate Pasadena talk on Friday, September 11.
- Join our next webinar — Monthly Inheritance and Family Readiness, Tuesday, September 15 at 12:00 PM PT. Register →
- Questions? Write us at stewards@forwardinheritance.com.