Vanilla and Mariner Partner to Revolutionize Estate Planning for $560B Advisory Force
In a major leap toward redefining how estate planning integrates into modern wealth management, Vanilla—the leading estate advisory platform—has announced a strategic partnership with Mariner, a national financial services powerhouse overseeing more than $560 billion in assets. This collaboration is poised to transform how financial advisors approach estate planning, enabling more personalized, efficient, and scalable services across Mariner’s expansive advisor network.
The partnership underscores a broader trend within the financial advisory industry: the shift toward holistic, tech-enabled solutions that allow advisors to expand their service offerings and deepen client relationships. By integrating Vanilla’s innovative estate planning tools into its practice, Mariner is equipping more than 700 advisors with the technology and resources needed to deliver estate planning at scale—once considered a complex and exclusive service reserved for only the ultra-wealthy.
A Strategic Partnership Rooted in Innovation
Since the inception of the partnership, the results have been nothing short of transformative. Advisors at Mariner who have adopted Vanilla’s platform are experiencing a 200% increase in revenue growth rates, highlighting the tangible business impact of offering estate planning as a core advisory service.
“We’re thrilled to have expanded our relationship with an iconic firm like Mariner, which is leading the charge for innovation in wealth management,” said Gene Farrell, CEO at Vanilla. “Unlocking estate planning as a service offering for every advisor with the help of AI is a core component of our mission to empower everyone to create a meaningful legacy.”
Farrell’s statement reflects Vanilla’s broader goal: to democratize estate planning by making it more accessible and less intimidating for both advisors and clients. By integrating artificial intelligence into the advisory workflow, Vanilla enables advisors to generate estate planning insights, automate document management, and facilitate deeper client engagement—without requiring them to be legal experts.
Empowering Advisors with Holistic Estate Planning Tools
At the heart of Vanilla’s value proposition is a comprehensive platform that streamlines the estate planning process from start to finish. The software suite includes tools for analyzing and visualizing wills and trusts, building holistic estate plans, generating customized documentation, and surfacing relevant insights for client conversations—all through an intuitive and user-friendly interface.
Mariner’s adoption of Vanilla’s platform is part of its broader commitment to delivering comprehensive, value-driven advice that goes beyond traditional portfolio management.
“Vanilla’s technology is yet another tool in our arsenal as we look to grow our practice to more than 5,000 advisors by 2027,” said Marty Bicknell, CEO of Mariner. “The ability to offer estate planning services in a simple and understandable way allows us to grow our partnerships with our clients and deliver more value throughout the wealth advisory journey.”
Bicknell’s remarks reflect the firm’s strategic vision to lead with innovation, grow organically, and provide advisors with the infrastructure to thrive in an increasingly competitive market.
Turning a Historically Complex Service into a Scalable Advantage
Traditionally, estate planning has been viewed as a highly specialized area of wealth management, often requiring collaboration with outside legal professionals and primarily reserved for ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) clients. It’s been perceived as complex, time-intensive, and difficult to scale. Vanilla, however, is challenging that perception by offering a technology-enabled solution that simplifies the process without sacrificing quality or compliance.
By removing many of the traditional barriers—complex legal language, disjointed document storage, and reactive planning—Vanilla has made estate planning a key growth lever for financial advisors. The integration of AI ensures that advisors can not only analyze existing estate plans but also proactively identify gaps, model scenarios, and recommend actions that align with their clients’ values and goals.
Through Vanilla’s platform, advisors at Mariner now have the ability to:
- Upload and extract data from legal documents like wills and trusts
- Visualize complex family and asset structures with interactive diagrams
- Collaborate with clients to develop actionable, customized estate strategies
- Generate documents and reports in real time
- Surface key planning opportunities using AI insights and automation
These capabilities empower Mariner advisors to have more meaningful conversations, build trust, and expand wallet share by integrating estate planning into their advisory model—ultimately translating into stronger client retention and increased revenue.
Estate Planning: The Fastest-Growing Segment in Advisor Technology
The timing of this partnership is especially relevant given the explosive growth in demand for estate planning tools across the financial advisory space. According to recent industry data, estate planning technology has seen 259% growth over the last two years, making it the fastest-growing category in advisor tech.
Advisors are increasingly recognizing estate planning as a vital component of holistic financial planning, particularly as more clients begin to prioritize legacy, family wealth transfer, and intergenerational guidance.
The surge in adoption is driven by both demographic and technological shifts. As baby boomers approach retirement and begin transferring assets to younger generations, the need for clear, accessible, and strategic estate planning is becoming paramount. Meanwhile, technology platforms like Vanilla are lowering the barrier to entry, allowing advisors of all sizes to offer services that were once deemed out of reach.
Vanilla’s Continued Momentum in 2025
The partnership with Mariner is part of a broader wave of growth for Vanilla in 2025. The company recently closed its fiscal year with a 293% year-over-year increase in platform growth, a testament to the growing demand for estate planning solutions within wealth management.
In addition to expanding its client base, Vanilla has continued to innovate, recently launching Copilot—an AI-powered assistant that helps advisors navigate estate planning with confidence. Copilot allows advisors to automate workflows, receive context-specific suggestions, and respond to client inquiries in real time, all within the Vanilla platform.
This focus on proactive planning and automation reinforces Vanilla’s commitment to empowering advisors not just to manage wealth—but to help clients define and realize their legacies.
Looking Ahead: Redefining the Future of Wealth Planning
The collaboration between Vanilla and Mariner is more than just a technology integration—it’s a reimagining of how financial advice is delivered. By embedding estate planning into the core of the client-advisor relationship, the partnership has created a blueprint for how RIAs and wealth management firms can drive growth, elevate client service, and stay ahead of the curve.
As Mariner looks toward its ambitious goal of expanding to over 5,000 advisors in the coming years, the tools and technology provided by Vanilla will be critical in helping the firm deliver consistent, high-quality, and impactful estate planning at scale.
Meanwhile, Vanilla continues to lead the charge in redefining the advisor toolkit—bringing estate planning out of the margins and into the mainstream of holistic wealth management.
To learn more about Vanilla’s platform and the impact of its technology on advisory firms like Mariner, visit https://www.justvanilla.com.
