Vanilla Blog

Vanilla

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May 20, 2026

Vanilla Continues National Expansion, Adding Carson Group to a Growing Roster of Leading Advisory Firms Bellevue, Washington — Vanilla is expanding its footprint across the independent advisory landscape, announcing today a partnership with Carson Group that brings its estate planning platform to more than 600 advisors. Carson Group manages over $58 billion in assets under management and serves more than 60,000 client families across a network of 165+ partner offices nationwide. "Estate planning is one of the most meaningful services an advisor can offer, and one of the most underleveraged," said Gene Farrell, CEO of Vanilla. "This partnership puts Vanilla...

Vanilla

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May 18, 2026

A financial advisor's book spans the full range of client complexity — from a household getting their first will to a UHNW family managing a multi-generational wealth transfer. Vanilla was built to handle all of it. More than 21,000 estates processed, $250 billion in assets modeled. Here's what that looks like in practice. Mass affluent clients: delivering good plans at scale For emerging wealth clients, the problem most advisors face isn't what to do — it's how to do it consistently across a large number of relationships without the process falling apart. Vanilla's Document Builder™ gives clients the tools to...

Vanilla

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May 13, 2026

If you missed our most recent product update webinar, here's a full rundown of everything we've shipped in 2026 — plus a preview of what's coming next. Our Product Marketing Specialist Jess walked attendees through the updates organized around the three commitments that guide everything we build: AI that elevates you, confidence in every client conversation, and getting you faster to the moments that matter. AI That Elevates You Tax Return Prompt for V/AI V/AI, Vanilla's proprietary AI, already generates comprehensive estate summaries from client documents. This year we added a dedicated tax return prompt to the Custom Prompt Library....

Vanilla

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May 12, 2026

Clients come to advisors for help navigating some of the most consequential financial decisions of their lives. Estate planning is the door to those conversations, and advisors who open it consistently become the trusted advisor for life's biggest moments, deepening client relationships and growing their practice in the process. That's why BlackRock has partnered with Vanilla to bring estate planning education directly to advisors through the BlackRock Advisor Center, a growing library of resources built to help advisors make estate planning a consistent part of how they serve clients. What's available now Advisors can access the following content written in...

Vanilla

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May 12, 2026

As demand for estate planning increases, adoption of AI estate planning software is accelerating. Last year, Kitces Research projected that by 2026, nearly half of all advisors will employ technology to support estate planning.  Firms leading the charge are positioning themselves to deliver a differentiated level of comprehensive planning with depth and consistency across their entire book of business. Advisors who build estate planning into their core service offering, supported by AI software that enables scale, can establish deeper relationships with both current and next-gen clients while setting themselves apart from firms focused exclusively on investment management and retirement financial...

Vanilla

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May 06, 2026

The wealth management industry is at an inflection point. Cerulli Associates projects that $124 trillion in assets will transfer by 2048, with $105 trillion flowing to the next generation. Trusts are among the most commonly used vehicles for structuring those transfers. For RIAs, multi-family offices, and private wealth firms, the volume of trust documents that will need to be reviewed represents both a significant opportunity and an operational challenge. Trust documents govern beneficiary rights, distribution conditions, tax strategies, and succession intentions, making a thorough review consequential to comprehensive financial planning.  The growing complexity of trust review in wealth management Client...

Sarah D. McDaniel, CFA

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May 01, 2026

A 2026 analysis of more than 12,000 advisor-client meetings found that 72% of clients express interest in estate planning but defer. Only 26% move forward. Most clients aren't opposed — they're waiting for a reason to act now. Volatile markets provide one. When markets are turbulent, it’s a smart time to revisit estate planning. While the instinct might be to pause and wait for stability, volatile periods can actually open up strategic opportunities. Using the blog The Building Blocks of Estate Planning Techniques as a guide, we’ll outline some timely actions advisors can take to calmly and confidently help clients...

Sarah D. McDaniel, CFA

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May 01, 2026

May is prime wedding season. More couples marry this month than any other and this concentration of celebration creates a natural opening for financial advisors. Couples marking a major commitment are uniquely receptive to thinking about their shared future, including the financial one.  That future is more consequential than ever. The U.S. is in the early stages of the largest wealth transfer in history, with an estimated $124 trillion moving between generations through 2048. But before that wealth reaches the next generation, it will first move horizontally with approximately $54 trillion expected to pass to surviving spouses. How wealth is...

Vanilla

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Apr 30, 2026

Bellevue, WA – April 30, 2026 Vanilla, the modern estate planning platform built for financial advisors, has been named the winner of the Technology Start-Up category at the Thirteenth Family Wealth Report Awards 2026. Vanilla was also recognized as a finalist in the Innovative Use of AI category. The annual Family Wealth Report Awards celebrate innovation and excellence among the firms, teams, and individuals serving North America’s family office, family wealth, and trusted advisor communities. These prestigious awards shine a spotlight on those making a real impact in the industry. "Estate planning has never had a true technology category leader...

Jessica Lantz

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Apr 29, 2026

Great planning conversations don't happen by accident. April's updates are designed to reduce the friction between you and the moments that matter most. AI that elevates you Track every version of your V/AI estate summaries  The challenge: When a V/AI summary is edited, the previous version is overwritten, making it difficult to compare iterations, revisit an earlier draft, or validate changes. That uncertainty creates risk — without a record of how a summary has evolved, auditability and traceability become harder to defend. The solution: Every time a V/AI estate summary is edited, the previous version is automatically saved and accessible...

Vanilla

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Apr 28, 2026

Trust documents contain the instructions that dictate how wealth moves between generations, who controls assets, and when beneficiaries receive distributions, provisions that directly impact investment strategy, tax planning, and legacy outcomes. When advisors miss or misunderstand key trust terms, they risk recommending strategies that conflict with a client's actual estate structure. For advisors, trust document review isn't a legal exercise; it's a planning function that plays a key role in comprehensive wealth management. The advisor's role in reviewing trust documents A proper trust review identifies the provisions that matter for investment decisions, distribution planning, and wealth transfer strategy. Advisors need...

Sarah D. McDaniel, CFA

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Apr 03, 2026

Once a year, clients do something remarkable: they gather every meaningful financial document they own. W-2s, 1099s, brokerage statements, retirement account summaries, Social Security income, rental income, trust distributions, charitable contribution receipts are all collected in one place, often for the first time since last April. For a few weeks, your clients have a clearer picture of their complete financial life than at almost any other moment in the year. They know what they own, what it earned, who depends on them, and what they owe. That document gathering process is more than a tax compliance exercise. It’s a full...