Tech firm Vanilla sweetens its estate planning platform

Vanilla, a leading estate planning software provider, has enhanced a key piece of its platform to provide a better experience for advisor users.

At the firm’s biannual virtual event, Legacy Now, the financial advisors, attorneys, and planners in attendance became the first to know about the new features for its Vanilla Document Builder.

The expanded features within the Vanilla Estate Advisory Platform include the ability to directly get in touch with top legal experts through an attorney engagement package. That offering is being launched in partnership with Accelerant Law, who will work directly with clients to build plans that fit their family and financial situation.

“Vanilla is playing a critical role in our ability to take our expertise and deliver it to clients across the spectrum of wealth,” Dana Foley, founder and partner at accelerant law said in a statement, praising the firm’s ability to “leverage technology to deliver sophisticated planning at scale.”

Users can now also obtain financial and medical powers of attorney for adult children through a new document creation package, which ensures that all legal documents comply with state laws and reflect the current wishes regarding the adult children's care in cases of incapacitation.

The additions, which also include access to advanced tax planning options, mark a significant update since the launch of the Vanilla Document Builder to general availability in January.

"We believe that everyone should be empowered to build a meaningful legacy, regardless of their level of wealth," Gene Farrell, CEO of Vanilla said.

"Vanilla is the only estate planning platform that supports every client at every level, and our latest innovations give advisors a complete estate platform spanning from planning to document creation ensuring their clients' financial well-being," he said.

In addition to new document creation packages, Vanilla has also introduced flexible billing options, allowing advisors to either pass the costs to their clients or embed them into their firm’s fee structure.

Just last month, Vanilla took another stride in estate planning technology by unveiling a scenario visualization tool to let advisors and wealth managers model out how different strategies would impact clients’ estate plans.

“Estate planning should be a seamless, integrated part of total wealth advisory services," Farrell said, emphasizing his firm’s commitment to “empower advisors and attorneys with technology and education.”