Category: What’s New

Jessica Lantz

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May 27, 2026

Estate planning conversations don't always start with a trust structure. Sometimes they start with a client who wants to give — to a cause they care about or to an institution that shaped who they are. What makes these conversations worth having carefully is that charitable intent and estate planning goals don't have to live in separate lanes. When structured thoughtfully, a charitable strategy can honor a client's values while doing meaningful work on their estate at the same time. That integration is increasingly where advisors are finding differentiation. Clients with appreciated assets, concentrated positions, or taxable estates are asking...

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...

Jessica Lantz

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Mar 25, 2026

Starting this month, you'll notice something a little different about how we talk about what we're building. In 2026, we're anchoring our product enhancements around three commitments: Getting you faster to the moments that matter — less friction between where you are and the moment estate planning becomes meaningful for a client Arming you with confidence at every client conversation — giving you the conviction and coverage to go deeper with every client you serve Providing AI that elevates you — a partner that makes every advisor more prepared, more proactive, and more present with clients We'll connect each release...

Jessica Lantz

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Feb 25, 2026

This month's releases are about removing friction—the kind that slows advisors down before they ever get to the work that matters. From smarter AI verification to an upgraded integration, February's updates are built around one idea: your time is better spent on clients, not on your tools. Here's what's new. Source tracking for all of VAI’s work: Trust every insight, across every document The challenge: When V/AI generates a full estate summary, advisors need to know exactly where each insight is coming from. Manually cross-referencing AI-generated insights against a stack of documents takes away time advisors should be spending on...

Jessica Lantz

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Feb 05, 2026

2025 was a groundbreaking year at Vanilla. We fundamentally changed how advisors approach estate planning, from announcing our patented estate planning technology to reimagining scenario modeling from the ground up. There’s been a lot to celebrate. We welcomed almost 400 new customers. Over 22,000 new estates were modeled with Vanilla, and we delivered over 60 revolutionary new features to make estate planning easier than ever.  Let's walk through the major milestones that shaped 2025. Auto-abstraction In February, we launched auto-abstraction through Vanilla Document Builder. Advisors are saving hours per client by having Vanilla automatically generate professional estate diagrams when clients...

Jessica Lantz

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Jan 28, 2026

January brings powerful upgrades that streamline how you manage complex estate data and present plans to clients. From flexible Balance Sheet organization to AI transparency and dynamic estate visualizations, these releases help you work more efficiently while delivering exceptional client experiences. Balance Sheet grouping: Organize complex data with ease The challenge: Estates with numerous assets create lengthy Balance Sheets that make it harder to highlight what matters most and understand critical financial information at a glance. The solution: Create custom groups to consolidate similar assets or accounts into single, collapsible line items, reducing visual clutter  Quickly expand grouped items to...

Jessica Lantz

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Dec 03, 2025

This month brings transformative changes to how you interact with Vanilla. We've reimagined core navigation experiences, unified our estate visualization tools, and rebuilt our integration infrastructure from the ground up. Each enhancement addresses friction points in your daily workflows while unlocking new possibilities for managing complex client portfolios. Edit Balance Sheet data in one unified workspace The challenge: Cleaning up imported Balance Sheet data requires navigating between multiple accounts, creating a fragmented workflow that consumes hours and makes it difficult to maintain context across portfolios. The solution: A single, table-like workspace where you can review, validate, and correct all imported...

Jessica Lantz

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Oct 29, 2025

October brings meaningful enhancements to Vanilla—from enhanced AI estate summary capabilities to more intuitive waterfall modeling. Each improvement is designed to help you work faster and deliver deeper insights to your clients. Here's what's coming soon. V/AI Estate Summary page improvements: More control, better readability, clearer insights The challenge: Advisors need AI-generated summaries that are easy to scan, read, and present to clients without extensive reformatting. The solution: Enhanced typography and spacing create a more visually appealing, scannable layout that makes key information immediately more readable V/AI will clearly show which documents were used to generate the summary, building your...

Jessica Lantz

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Sep 23, 2025

This month's release tackles the friction points you've told us about—from inconsistent AI results across your team to managing multi-state inheritance tax requirements. Each enhancement works seamlessly with your existing processes while expanding what's possible. Here’s what came out in September, along with some features that are coming soon. Nationwide inheritance tax: Never miss inheritance tax implications again The challenge: Advisors with multi-state clients manually track varying inheritance tax rules across jurisdictions, risking costly oversights and planning errors. The solution: Vanilla is introducing inheritance tax calculation support for Maryland, Nebraska, and New Jersey—completing our nationwide coverage Automated, state-specific calculations integrate...