Women & Wealth: What Advisors Need to Know

What women want from estate planning conversations — and what most advisors are missing.

Vanilla’s Women & Wealth Survey asked 502 U.S. women who are the primary financial decision-makers in their households about estate planning: what they prioritize, where they feel prepared, and what they wish their advisors understood. The findings reveal a gap that’s bigger than most advisors realize, and more actionable than they might expect.

This year’s key findings:

• Nearly 1 in 3 women with a financial advisor say estate planning has either never come up or they had to raise it themselves
• 46% say protecting their family financially is their top estate planning priority — six times more than those who prioritize minimizing taxes
• 81% expected to feel well-prepared if they lost a spouse. Only 7% actually did.
• 13% of women in couples say their advisor directs more of the conversation toward their partner — only 6% say it’s directed toward them
• 39% say the most important advisor quality is plain language — ranked ahead of expertise, proactive communication, and everything else on the list
• 27% have already started an estate plan or plan to in the next 12 months

Click here to read the full report.