About
Vanilla is the leading estate planning software platform built exclusively for wealth advisors. Combining patent-protected technology with a suite of AI-powered tools, Vanilla enables advisors to deliver comprehensive estate planning services to clients ranging from mass affluent individuals to ultra-high-net-worth families—all without leaving the platform. At the core of Vanilla is V/AI (Vanilla AI), the industry's first AI-driven estate planning assistant. It instantly generates plan summaries, reviews existing estate plans, and extracts data from uploaded documents in minutes, freeing advisors to focus on strategy and client relationships. The Estate Health Check feature uses a simple questionnaire to surface planning gaps and opportunities across an advisor's entire book of business. The Document Builder guides clients through completing wills, trusts, and essential legal documents via structured questionnaires, while simultaneously surfacing financial details that deepen advisor understanding. Scenario Modeling allows advisors to model complex strategies like GRATs, SLATs, and charitable giving in minutes, comparing approaches side-by-side to win planning engagements on the first meeting. Vanilla also offers branded prospecting tools, intuitive estate visualizations, and polished client deliverables designed to engage entire families. The platform integrates with existing wealth management workflows and is trusted by advisory firms serving clients at every level of wealth. It is ideal for RIAs, wealth management firms, and financial planners looking to turn estate planning into a growth engine.
Key Features
- Vanilla AI (V/AI): The industry's first AI-driven estate planning assistant. Generates plan summaries, reviews existing documents, and extracts key data in minutes.
- Estate Health Check: A guided questionnaire that reveals planning gaps and opportunities across an advisor's entire book of business, converting insights into actionable next steps.
- Document Builder: Guides clients through completing wills, trusts, and other essential legal documents via structured questionnaires, surfacing valuable financial details along the way.
- Scenario Modeling: Model complex strategies like GRATs, SLATs, and charitable giving in minutes. Compare approaches side-by-side to demonstrate real outcomes and win planning engagements.
- Branded Prospecting & Visualizations: Deliver polished, branded client deliverables and intuitive estate visualizations that engage entire families and differentiate your practice.
Use Cases
- A wealth advisory firm uses Vanilla's Estate Health Check to identify planning gaps across their entire client book and prioritize outreach for high-opportunity accounts.
- An RIA uses V/AI to instantly review uploaded estate planning documents from new clients, extracting key data and generating summaries before the first meeting.
- A financial planner uses Scenario Modeling to present and compare GRAT and SLAT strategies side-by-side during a prospect meeting, winning the engagement on the spot.
- A wealth manager uses the Document Builder to guide clients through creating wills and trusts digitally, reducing back-and-forth with attorneys and saving hours per client.
- An advisory team uses Vanilla's branded visualizations and polished deliverables to engage multiple generations of a high-net-worth family, strengthening long-term retention.
Pros
- All-in-one platform: Covers prospecting, document creation, AI analysis, and scenario modeling in a single integrated platform, reducing the need for multiple tools.
- Time-saving AI automation: V/AI dramatically reduces manual work by instantly generating summaries, extracting document data, and surfacing planning opportunities.
- Serves the full wealth spectrum: Built to handle clients from mass affluent to ultra-high-net-worth, making it scalable for advisory firms of all sizes.
- Strengthens client relationships: Intuitive visuals and family-engaging deliverables help advisors deepen trust and reduce client attrition.
Cons
- Advisor-only focus: The platform is built exclusively for financial advisors and wealth managers—not suitable for individual consumers seeking direct estate planning tools.
- Enterprise pricing: As a professional-grade, paid platform, it may be cost-prohibitive for solo practitioners or very small advisory firms.
- Learning curve for complex features: Advanced scenario modeling and AI features may require onboarding and training time to use effectively across a full advisory team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Vanilla designed for?
Vanilla is designed specifically for financial advisors, RIAs, and wealth management firms that want to offer comprehensive estate planning services to clients across the wealth spectrum—from mass affluent to ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
What is Vanilla AI (V/AI)?
V/AI is the industry's first AI-driven estate planning assistant built into the Vanilla platform. It can instantly generate plan summaries, review existing estate plans, and extract structured data from uploaded documents—saving advisors significant time.
Can Vanilla help with document creation?
Yes. Vanilla's Document Builder guides clients through completing wills, trusts, and other essential legal documents via structured questionnaires, while surfacing financial details that help advisors better understand their clients' complete picture.
What types of estate planning strategies can Vanilla model?
Vanilla's Scenario Modeling feature supports strategies such as GRATs (Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts), SLATs (Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts), charitable giving strategies, and more—allowing advisors to compare approaches side-by-side in real time.
How does Vanilla help advisors grow their practice?
Vanilla provides branded prospecting tools, AI-powered planning workflows, estate visualizations, and polished client deliverables that help advisors win new business, deepen existing relationships, and drive ongoing AUM growth conversations.
