The Vanilla Resource Center

Vanilla

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Jul 11, 2025

Win new clients by downloading and sending this presentation to potential clients and prospects alike. It can help them understand why estate planning matters and how you, as their trusted advisor, can make the process as simple as possible by using Vanilla.

Vanilla

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Mar 04, 2025

Tax planning for clients with taxable estates has always been complex. We’ve learned the best way to explain estate planning strategies is with diagrams, not documents. That’s why we’ve put together this deck of 10 diagrams to explain some of the advanced strategies and why household with $10M in assets should care about estate tax. Why $10M in household assets? In 2026 the Estate Tax exemption drops down to just about $10M (or higher based on inflation). The 10 diagrams explain both why you need advanced strategies and how 8 different strategies work. We’ve explained them all below but if...

Vanilla

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Feb 22, 2023

Key takeaways AdvicePeriod flips the traditional advisory model, leading with estate and tax planning instead of investments, an approach Steve Lockshin says can move a client’s projected estate tax bill toward zero. The firm’s playbook began as an internal checklist after Lockshin found gaps even inside his own firm, such as missing health care proxies for children turning 18, and it eventually grew into the tool that became Vanilla. Reviewing a prospect’s core documents, including wills, powers of attorney, and trusts, often surfaces outdated fiduciary appointments or outright distributions that no longer make sense once a client’s net worth has...