Vanilla, a leading estate planning technology platform, has announced the opening of a waitlist for Vanilla Starter, a new solution designed to make professional estate planning services accessible to boutique registered investment advisor (RIA) firms.
Solo practices and small RIA firms have historically faced challenges in offering in-house estate planning services due to a lack of resources, expertise, or technology. Vanilla Starter aims to address these issues by providing essential estate planning tools built on the same institutional-grade technology that serves ultra-high-net-worth clients, with pricing starting at $99 per month.
Gene Farrell, CEO of Vanilla, stated, “We’ve heard from hundreds of advisors who want to add estate planning capabilities but need a solution that meets them at their starting point. Vanilla Starter delivers exactly what these firms need—the same institutional-quality technology our comprehensive platform is built on, focused on the essential tools to get started confidently and cost-effectively.”
Vanilla Starter provides several key features tailored for solo practitioners and small RIA firms. These include Professional Document Generation using institutional-quality templates via Vanilla Document Builder™, an Estate Health Check to identify planning opportunities, Essential Calculators for modeling basic estate and insurance strategies, and access to the Vanilla Attorney Network for clients requiring state-specific guidance. Additionally, a Launch Package offers professional marketing materials and training resources to aid firms in introducing their new services.
The solution leverages Vanilla’s established technology platform, which has successfully processed over 45,000 estate documents and modeled more than $250 billion in client assets.
Advisors who join the waitlist will receive early access to Vanilla Starter upon its launch next month, along with exclusive early adopter pricing and benefits. The waitlist also allows Vanilla’s product team to gather market insights to refine the offering. Farrell added, “Estate planning shouldn’t feel out of reach. Vanilla Starter is about reducing the barriers to entry and giving advisors a straightforward, effective way to begin making an immediate impact for clients of all wealth levels.”
Vanilla Starter is designed to serve as a natural progression for growing practices, offering seamless upgrade capabilities to Vanilla’s comprehensive platform. All client data and documents migrate effortlessly, ensuring continuity as firms expand their estate planning services. The solution targets solo and small-team RIA practices serving mass affluent clients who seek to differentiate their offerings with comprehensive wealth management capabilities.
Vanilla specializes in modern estate planning technology for financial advisors, transforming complex legal documents into clear, interactive visuals. The platform integrates deep integrations, intuitive workflows, and expert support to embed estate planning into holistic financial advice.
