Having the right digital tools for your job helps streamline work, minimize errors, and offer the best possible client experience.
As an estate planner, using the right suite of software allows you to find and retain clients, correctly and easily create legal documents, and ensure you never miss an important detail.
This guide highlights and explains the key features of nine must-have software options for estate planners and other financial professionals.
A CRM
Customer relationship managers (CRMs) are database software—with a wide range of advanced features—that allow you to keep track of leads and clients. CRMs hold contact information, monitor the stages of client journeys, and categorize people in your database into groups for marketing concerns.
Many CRMs have an email marketing feature or integrate with digital marketing software so you can leverage client data when sending out information. You can segment (group) the people in your database to receive certain marketing promotions or updates. For example, set up discount offer emails for people grouped as leads and newsletters for everyone on your list.
Popular CRM options include: Salesforce, Zoho, and Monday.
Cost: Ranging from free options to $100+ per month
An email marketing service
If your CRM does not have an email marketing feature, you’ll want to acquire a platform that covers this need. Email platforms allow you to efficiently create emails using your brand kit (logos, fonts, and colors) for a cohesive look across all your marketing materials. Most services offer templates, meaning that someone with zero design knowledge can create an aesthetically pleasing email blast.
Email marketing platforms also make scheduling and sending emails to different audiences within your lead- and client-base easy. You can even automate certain messages, like a note saying you’ll be in touch soon when someone inquires about services or birthday greetings for existing clients.
Popular email marketing options include: Mailchimp, Omnisend, and Constant Contact.
Cost: Ranging from free options to $100+ per month
Asset-Map
Asset-Map is financial planning software that captures and saves client information to leverage in analysis and advising. Create document drafts and invite clients to review your work with the portal feature, which allows you to virtually present information.
Asset-Map integrates with dozens of other tools, from CRMs to portfolio managers, meaning it fits into almost any bespoke software suite.
Cost: From $142 per month
EncorEstate Plans
EncorEstate Plans is a tool created specifically for professionals in the estate planning industry. This software allows you to create legal documents using templates generated by other attorneys or by customizing language to your needs.
With EncorEstate Plans, you can also gather information from clients at a distance and present plans to them using simple visuals.
Cost: A range of one-time fees and monthly memberships
NaviPlan
NaviPlan is financial planning software that allows professionals to monitor client progress toward goals and generate recommendations. The platform also helps streamline client onboarding, collecting and storing the data you’ll need to create plans.
NaviPlan is a broad tool covering everything from cash flow to insurance planning, making it a strong option for estate planners who also perform other types of advising work. That said, among its offerings are features specifically intended for estate planning.
Cost: $2,000+ per year
TEPI Access
The Estate Planning Institute (TEPI) helps estate and financial planners stay informed and educate their clients. TEPI features an exclusive video library with user-friendly content on complex estate planning topics, making it easy for attorneys to explain key concepts to clients—fostering trust and confidence.
When you join TEPI, you also gain access to a professional network, webinars and conferences, and up-to-the-minute legal updates. You receive a member badge to display on your website or marketing materials, signaling your commitment to continuing education and excellence.
Cost: From $97 per month
Wealth
Wealth is an estate planning platform that helps professionals onboard clients, create plans, and improve customer service by leveraging AI assistance. The platform boasts features like time-saving document creation, insight generation, and support for extremely complex cases. Wealth also focuses on visualizations, like mapping assets and tax implications.
The platform also allows you to store, edit, and share documents, meaning you can do most of your estate planning work in one place and keep clients and colleagues in the loop.
Cost: Contact Wealth’s sales team for more information.
Vanilla
Vanilla leverages AI to make the estate planning process more agile. The platform aims to eliminate unwieldy workflows you might currently perform in other software (like Excel) and standardize your documentation.
With Vanilla, you can quickly create plans and have the platform’s AI build user-friendly visuals to share with clients. Vanilla also allows you to project “what-if” scenarios, helping you show clients different options for maximizing their assets and project the results of any given choice.
Vanilla’s internal sharing capacities make this software a solid option for larger firms, as the whole team can collaborate in real-time.
Cost: Contact Vanilla’s sales team for more information.
An all-in-one tool or an all-in-one toolbox?
Many estate planning tools come close to earning “all-in-one” status. But you’ll likely need a suite of software to meet your unique needs. That is, you’ll need a bespoke toolbox.
Delineate what parts of your workflow or client outreach could be improved, and determine which tools best support these business needs. Perhaps you already have an agile document creation process, and what you need most is customer relationship and marketing help. Or maybe you’re just starting and want a tool that offers extensive documentation support.
Whatever you decide, include TEPI in your suite. TEPI offers unique content that helps you educate your clients, meaning you can drive more comfortable and confident connections than the competition. Plus, you’ll be the first to know about legal changes that affect your business, which, in turn, influence how you use your other estate planning tools.