Category: Estate Planning
Vanilla
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Nov 11, 2025
What Are the Six Different Types of Power of Attorney?
Choosing the wrong power of attorney (POA) can leave families scrambling during a crisis. Each state has its own rules governing these documents, and understanding which POA is suitable for a situation matters more than most people realize. In this guide, we break down the six main types of POAs for individuals, families, caregivers, financial advisors, and estate planners who need clarity on this essential part of estate planning. 1. General power of attorney A general power of attorney is a legal document that gives one person (called the agent or attorney-in-fact) broad authority over another person’s (called the principal)...
Jennifer Raess JD, CFP®, CLU®
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Nov 05, 2025
2026 Tax Planning Reset: What Advisors Need to Know About OBBBA and IRS...
The IRS has released its inflation-adjusted numbers for 2026, confirming key updates for estate, gift, and income tax planning. These changes, combined with provisions from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), will reshape how advisors approach gifting, deductions, and trust taxation. Now is the time for advisors to revisit clients’ estate strategies to prepare for 2026. Here's a snapshot of the key changes advisors need to know: 2026 Changes at a Glance Category 2025 2026 Lifetime estate & gift exemption $13.99M/person $27.98M/married couple $15M/person $30M/married couple Annual gift exclusion $19,000/ $38,000 if gift splitting $19,000/ $38,000 if gift splitting...
Jennifer Raess JD, CFP®, CLU®
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Oct 28, 2025
The OBBBA Clock Is Ticking: Why 2025 Might be the Year to Act...
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law in July 2025, introduces some significant charitable giving changes starting in 2026. It expands opportunities for everyday donors while tightening limits for high-income taxpayers. With year-end approaching, advisors should review these shifts now to help clients maximize charitable impact and tax benefits before the new rules take effect in 2026. The impact of these changes will vary depending on whether clients itemize their deductions, making it important to tailor charitable strategies accordingly. New rule for non-itemizing individuals Starting in 2026, taxpayers who take the standard deduction can claim an "above-the-line"...
Vanilla
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Oct 08, 2025
10 Questions Every Advisor Should Ask Before Choosing an Estate Planning Solution
By nature, the practice of estate planning has a level of seriousness and substantiality that few other advisor-client conversations will ever reach. When you bring technology into that process, you want to make sure it reflects the importance of the topic at hand. Choosing an estate planning software that brings the appropriate credibility and accuracy is no small task, and it’s easy to get lost in the details when comparing solutions. To help cut through the noise, we built the Buyer’s Guide to Estate Planning Platforms for Advisory Firms, which walks through the criteria to consider when choosing a solution...
Vanilla
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Sep 25, 2025
45,000 Documents Later: The Most Common Estate Planning Mistakes
Estate planning is one of the most impactful ways advisors can help clients protect their families, preserve wealth, and ensure their intentions are honored. Yet, despite its importance, we’ve seen time and again that estate plans—even carefully drafted ones—often contain blind spots. At Vanilla, we’ve abstracted over 45,000 estate planning documents. This vantage point provides a unique window into the recurring mistakes and oversights that surface in client plans. For advisors, understanding these pitfalls is critical not just for catching errors, but also for building trust and proactively guiding clients through difficult conversations. Below are the most common mistakes we...
Vanilla
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Sep 09, 2025
4 Lessons from Steve Lockshin’s Estate Planning Playbook
As an advisor, you probably know how rare it is to retain AUM after the death of the primary wealthholder. You may also know that there’s a proven way to decrease the likelihood of getting fired when the relationship passes to a surviving spouse or the next generation: estate planning. Advisors who engage their clients and clients’ families in estate planning are more likely to retain assets as they transfer to a surviving spouse or next generation. If wading into the waters of estate planning with clients seems intimidating, we have practical advice for navigating these conversations and processes. Here,...
Vanilla
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Sep 03, 2025
10 Helpful Benefits of Trusts You Should Know
Trusts are one of the most versatile and frequently used tools in estate planning. Not only do they help clients protect their wealth, they can also provide clarity, flexibility, and peace of mind for families. Whether you work with high-net-worth clients, blended families, or individuals who simply want more control over their legacy, trusts offer benefits that go far beyond what a will alone can accomplish. In this article, we’ll explore 10 helpful benefits of trusts you should know, and the strategic advantages each offers for clients. 1. Avoiding probate saves time and costs Probate is the court-supervised process of...
Vanilla
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Aug 20, 2025
What Are Letters of Administration and How to Obtain Them
When someone passes away without a valid will, it can create significant challenges for their heirs and loved ones. Letters of administration are provided by the probate court once an estate is opened and are crucial in such cases as they grant the legal authority to an individual to manage and settle the deceased’s estate. In the absence of a will, obtaining a letter of administration is the first step in the probate process. Letters of administration give the estate’s executor the power to handle the deceased’s financial obligations, sell property, and distribute the estate to its heirs in accordance...
Vanilla
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Aug 06, 2025
12 Probate Documents to Include in Your Probate Checklist
Probate—the court process of settling an estate—can be a complicated, time-consuming process. It’s also document-heavy. Having all the necessary documents in order can help streamline probate, reducing potential conflicts and hang ups. [embed]https://justvanilla.wistia.com/medias/vd3bfy1xvp[/embed] There are 12 essential documents that should be part of every probate checklist, each of which plays a part in ensuring the estate is properly administered and that the decedent’s wishes are honored. In this article, you’ll learn what each document is, how to obtain it, and what purpose it serves. Making sure you have and understand all the necessary documents can help make probate a smoother...
