Blog
Madison Eubanks
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Apr 29, 2024
4 of the Most Important Takeaways from Legacy Now Spring 2024
At Vanilla’s most recent estate advisory summit, Legacy Now Spring 2024, thought leaders from across the estate planning industry to discuss emerging trends, best practices, and informed strategies for all types of firms. This year’s virtual event featured three expert panels, an interview with former Vanguard CEO Bill McNabb, a sneak peek at Vanilla’s product roadmap, and a conversation between NBA champion Shane Battier and his advisor, Steve Lockshin. The 90 minutes were jam-packed with insights from experienced advisors, attorneys, and planners, all of which you can watch here in the complete recording. Otherwise, keep reading for four must-know highlights...
Blog
Simona Ondrejkova, CFP
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Apr 29, 2024
Survivor’s Trusts: Everything You Need to Know
Of the many different types of trusts out there, some are designed specifically to help married couples transfer their assets according to the wishes and needs of each individual within the marriage. These trusts can be structured to provide for the surviving spouse while also being mindful of estate tax considerations for the surviving spouse and future beneficiaries. A survivor's trust is an estate planning tool used by married couples to ensure that after one spouse passes away, the surviving spouse will have access to a portion of the assets to provide for their living needs. There are several benefits...
Blog
John Costello
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Apr 24, 2024
Vanilla Expands Document Creation to Offer a Complete, Modern Estate Planning Experience
New Vanilla Document Builder™️, announced at biannual Legacy Now event, delivers modern estate planning for all wealth levels. Vanilla, a leading provider of innovative estate planning software, today announced an expanded set of features for Vanilla Document BuilderTM, the modern document creation engine within the Vanilla Estate Advisory Platform. Financial advisors using Vanilla can now offer a compelling modern estate planning experience for clients across the wealth spectrum. New features include the ability to connect directly with legal experts, to get powers of attorney for adult children, and to tap into advanced tax planning options. These enhancements were unveiled at...
Blog
Rachel Pettis
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Apr 16, 2024
What’s New in Vanilla: New features for April 2024
Spring (and Legacy Now) is in the air! April is showering Vanilla with multiple new features, enabling our customers to: Expedite document reviews in Vanilla Estate Builder with smart suggestions powered by VAI™ and additional customization with Advanced Distributions Show the potential future impact of layering on a SLAT or GRAT with Vanilla Scenarios™ Invite clients to engage an estate attorney in certain states when completing their documents with Vanilla Document Builder Include the cost of Vanilla Document Builder in your firm’s fee structure with a Charge Me option Add your firm’s custom compliance disclosures to the Vanilla PDF report...
Blog
Simona Ondrejkova, CFP
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Apr 15, 2024
Section 6166: How You Can Defer Estate Tax
Do you have clients who own a business or have just recently inherited one? When it comes to estate planning for business owners, understanding section 6166 of the US tax code could make a big difference in ensuring continuity of the business after the owner passes away. While there are several estate planning strategies that can help clients reduce their overall estate tax bill, those who own a business should also be aware of strategies to defer payments on estate taxes to keep their heirs from having to do a fire sale of the business just to pay taxes. So...
Blog
Simona Ondrejkova, CFP
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Apr 04, 2024
Schedule K-1 Forms: Managing Your Client’s Estate Income
When helping clients with their estate plan, taxes are one of the key components to take into account as part of the planning process. And while there are several estate planning strategies that can be used to minimize or eliminate estate taxes for clients, here we’ll talk specifically about taxes that an estate or a trust incurs on its income. One of the forms that clients should be familiar with if they are trustees, administrators, or beneficiaries of an estate or a trust is schedule K-1. Since there are a few different types of K-1 forms, it’s important to understand...
Blog
Madison Eubanks
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Apr 02, 2024
Letter of Testamentary: What It Is & Why You Need It
Creating a last will and testament is one of the most fundamental efforts in estate planning, and a key component is naming an executor to carry out the will’s instructions. The executor is the person who will administer the estate, sees it through the probate process, and settles the decedent’s final affairs—in short, it’s a big responsibility. Before the executor can begin administering a deceased person’s estate, though, the executor needs to obtain a Letter of Testamentary (also called letters testamentary). In this article, we’ll explain what a letter of testamentary is, why you might need one, how to get...
Blog
Simona Ondrejkova, CFP
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Mar 28, 2024
Should you use a transfer on death account (TOD)?
When it comes to estate planning, each individual’s needs dictate the simplicity or complexity of the solution that will best fit their goals. For those who care about avoiding probate, ease of distribution to beneficiaries, and simplicity of set-up, a transfer on death (TOD) account could be a great option. A TOD account provides a simple way to transfer assets to beneficiaries without the need for complex legal structures like trusts. Here, we’ll explain what a TOD account is, its main benefits and drawbacks, and how it can be used as part of an estate plan to transfer wealth quickly...
Blog
Simona Ondrejkova, CFP
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Mar 26, 2024
How AI Can Be Used in Your Law Firm
For busy attorneys, finding ways to boost efficiency can elevate client service and free up more hours in your day—and leaning on carefully chosen tools may help you achieve that. With the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and its practical uses in improving efficiency across so many industries, you may be wondering how—if at all—you might use it in your law practice. From removing tedious administrative tasks to speeding up case analysis and research, the latest AI technologies present many opportunities to help solo practitioners and large law firms maximize productivity while improving client outcomes. The use of AI in...
Blog
Simona Ondrejkova, CFP
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Mar 21, 2024
Popular Software for Law Firms in 2024
As a legal professional, incorporating specialized software for lawyers into your practice can help you save countless hours and improve productivity, all while providing better service to your clients. Finding the right legal industry software can free you from routine tasks so you can spend more time on the most essential work that only you can do. Plus, many software solutions can take some of the weight off the shoulders of your assistants and paralegals, improving efficiency and productivity in your firm. Software for law firms comes in many categories. To help you gain a better idea of how legal...
Blog
Rachel Pettis
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Mar 19, 2024
Vanilla’s new features for March – Introducing Vanilla Scenarios & an upgraded Estate...
March feature madness is in full swing here at Vanilla with new releases and an exciting launch last week! Here's what we're most excited about this month: Introducing Vanilla Scenarios™ An upgraded client Estate Profile Model the future impact of planning with Vanilla Scenarios™ Currently in the Vanilla platform, advisors, planners, and attorneys can use our recently enhanced projections feature to visualize a client’s current estate at a future point in time, like the 2026 Sunset. With Vanilla Scenarios™, rolling out over the coming months, wealth advisors will be able to model the future impact of advanced planning on top...
Blog
Madison Eubanks
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Mar 19, 2024
Practical Advice for Navigating Probate
Probate—the legal process of administering a person’s estate after their death—can be a loaded topic. Depending on the size and complexity of the decedent’s (the deceased person’s) estate, how organized their affairs were at the time of their death, the state they lived in, and many other factors, the probate process may vary widely from person to person. Of course, the best way to deal with probate is to avoid it. A thorough estate plan that includes a revocable trust dictating where assets go can allow an estate to bypass (or mostly bypass) the oft-tedious probate process. To learn more...