Jessica Lantz

Aug 12, 2025

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The Future of Estate Planning is Here: Introducing Vanilla Scenarios™ Advanced Planning

From first conversation to comprehensive strategy in minutes—powered by proven expertise and unmatched accuracy

Today, we’re excited to introduce Vanilla Scenarios™️ Advanced Planning—the next evolution of our all-in-one scenario planning tool that sets the standard for estate planning innovation.

Building on success

Over the past year, we’ve seen advisors achieve remarkable results with Vanilla Scenarios. But we’ve also heard a consistent request: make it even faster to get started, even more flexible for different workflows, and even more powerful for client conversations.

The estate planning industry still faces fundamental challenges: fragmented tools that don’t talk to each other, lengthy setup processes that delay valuable planning conversations, and disconnected educational content that makes it harder to guide clients through complex decisions. 

Our vision: Start meaningful estate planning conversations in minutes with only basic client information. Model, compare, and present sophisticated strategies—all powered by the industry’s most accurate and comprehensive modeling engine—in one unified workflow that adapts to any advisor and any client situation.

Built on the industry’s most powerful modeling engine

Before diving into the features, it’s important to understand what sets Vanilla Scenarios apart: accuracy that’s proven, not promised.

Vanilla Scenarios is powered by our enterprise-grade, patented modeling engine—vetted across 25,000+ end clients, $300B+ in total wealth, and thousands of UHNW estates. This depth matters because without it, plans can misrepresent a client’s situation by millions of dollars.

The result? You can confidently model the most sophisticated, real-world situations—from traditional strategies like SLATs and GRATs to practical decisions like relocating to a different state—knowing your calculations are accurate and your recommendations are sound.

What makes Vanilla Scenarios different

Start planning immediately, no documents required

The biggest breakthrough in Vanilla Scenarios is instant modeling. Add a client and start building scenarios in minutes, even with minimal data. No document uploads, no full profile setup, no waiting.

Whether you have a rough net worth estimate or comprehensive financial statements, Vanilla Scenarios adapts to what you have and lets you add detail as you go. This means you can have meaningful planning conversations from day one—not weeks later.

One platform, complete workflow

We’ve unified everything advisors need into a single, intuitive experience:

• Scenario modeling with real-time calculations
• Built-in calculators for quick analysis
• Embedded education to support understanding
• Dynamic visualizations for instant comparisons
• Client-ready deliverables to drive engagement and buy-in
• No more bouncing between tools. No more re-entering data. Just a streamlined workflow that follows the natural flow of advisor-client conversations.

Flexible for every advisor, every client

Vanilla Scenarios supports both “Quick Add” (top-down net worth modeling) and detailed Balance Sheet (bottom-up asset modeling) approaches. Start simple with high-level planning, then drill down into specifics as your client relationship develops.

• For newer advisors: Guided workflows and contextual education help you confidently expand into advanced strategies.
• For estate planning experts: Jump straight into sophisticated, multi-strategy modeling with the flexibility and precision you need.

Real-time, visual strategy comparisons

Compare multiple scenarios side-by-side with dynamic charts and waterfall projections. Our proprietary, patented waterfall engine handles the most complex calculations—from federal and state estate taxes to GST calculations and iterative residue calculations—with unmatched precision.

Show clients exactly how different strategies impact their wealth transfer goals, estate tax liability, and beneficiary outcomes, with confidence in every calculation. Transform client meetings from one-way presentations into collaborative planning sessions where you can adjust scenarios on the fly and demonstrate value in real-time.

Beyond the usual strategies: Real-world planning

Vanilla goes beyond typical planning strategies to help prepare your clients for challenges encountered in the real world. In addition to traditional estate planning strategies, Vanilla Scenarios provides robust analyses that reflect actual client situations:

• Model the impact of relocating to a different state
• Analyze practical funding decisions and their outcomes
• Evaluate how estate tax law changes impact existing plans
• Compare scenarios for changing family circumstances
• Plus all the traditional planning options: SLATs, GRATs, ILITs, IDGTs, CRTs, CLTs, and annual gifting. This comprehensive outlook enables you to serve your clients holistically and set yourself apart from other advisors.

Unparalleled client deliverables

Vanilla’s PDF presentations are best-in-class—offering everything from high-level summaries to detailed strategy breakdowns. Export professional, client-ready deliverables that clearly communicate value and next steps, helping you turn every planning conversation into an opportunity to demonstrate expertise and move clients forward.

The impact: Faster planning, better outcomes

Early adopters are already seeing dramatic improvements:

• Save hours of manual work by eliminating fragmented tools and redundant data entry
• Accelerate planning conversations and serve more clients with the same resources
• Deliver more compelling advice with side-by-side comparisons and dynamic visualizations
• Demonstrate value earlier in the client journey to drive engagement and buy-in
• Support all skill levels with embedded education and flexible workflows
• Proven ROI: Advisors using Vanilla see 3X faster revenue growth at high-adoption firms

Designed for how advisors and planners actually work

Vanilla Scenarios is designed for real advisory workflows. Whether you prefer a guided experience with educational support or want to jump straight into advanced modeling, the platform adapts to your style and expertise level.

“Our goal with this evolution of Scenarios is to help advisors confidently expand their estate planning service offerings while delivering more sophisticated, real-world recommendations,” added Patrick Carlson, Associate General Counsel at Vanilla. “The integrated educational content and flexible approach support advisors at every skill level, from those just getting started with advanced strategies to seasoned estate planners looking for more efficient workflows.”

Built by the industry’s leading experts

Vanilla was founded by Steve Lockshin, a #1 nationally ranked financial advisor by Barron’s, with 35+ years of experience serving UHNW clients. Our key capabilities, such as Vanilla Scenarios, reflect decades of real-world estate planning expertise:

• The largest in-house estate planning team in the industry: 20+ experts with 180+ years of combined experience
• Backed by top legal minds: Advisory board of partners from national law firms like McDermott Will & Emery and Loeb & Loeb
• Deep industry experience: Team members from JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley across every function

What’s next for Vanilla Scenarios?

This is just the beginning. At Vanilla, we continue to set the pace for innovation in estate planning:

• Expanding supported strategies: CRATs, QPRTs, CLUTs, and rolling GRATs coming soon
• AI-powered enhancements: Building on our Estate Intelligence AI launched in 2025
• Deeper integrations: Enhanced connections with financial planning platforms

The goal: Make Vanilla Scenarios the foundation for all your estate planning conversations—from initial “what if” discussions to comprehensive, multi-generational wealth transfer strategies.

See Vanilla Scenarios Advanced Planning in action

Vanilla Scenarios Advanced Planning is available now to all Vanilla users.

Ready to transform how you approach estate planning? Schedule a demo to see Vanilla Scenarios in action, or join Vanilla’s upcoming webinar, Transform Client Conversations with Vanilla Scenarios Advanced Planning on August 20th at 11 AM PT. The session will feature a live demo, real-world use cases, and Q&A with Vanilla’s product experts. Register here.

Vanilla Scenarios Advanced Planning represents our commitment to building tools that actually improve how advisors work—not just add more complexity. By removing barriers, unifying workflows, and supporting advisors at every skill level, we’re making sophisticated estate planning more accessible for advisors and their clients.