List of Estate Tech (to be Updated Periodically)
Capturing the landscape of tech tools designed to streamline estate plan intake, drafting, funding, mapping, education, and administration
A while back, I put out a call on LinkedIn seeking input on the taxonomy (pun intended) of tech solutions in estate planning. I just spent a couple of days at Heckerling, where I observed a growing wave of software solutions present as exhibitors or sponsors. I have long planned to put together a tech map of solutions specifically for estate planning, much like Michael Kitces does broadly for FinTech solutions. But, before I can create a map, I need a list to start.
Now, to preface, this list is nowhere near complete. Solutions are listed in alphabetical order, to avoid the promotion of one over the other. Part of my reason for doing so is because I advise some of the companies on this list, so to avoid the appearance of bias I have not mentioned these relationships nor have I favored one tool over the other(s).
Admittedly, too, I bring a bit of my own bias in the form of how I have interpreted marketing in the context of collaboration versus disruption/replacement. Thus, in choosing which solutions to initially include I have taken into account (1) my subjective judgment of visibility and market share, (2) specific contact with and/or marketing to me, and (3) marketing that seeks to support attorneys instead of replacing them (tempered in some cases by market share or circumstances).
These determinations will be subjective. That being said, if you lead a tech solution that has been omitted, there is a 99.9% chance that I have omitted your solution simply because I do not know about your service. Please reach out if that is the case, and I am happy to add you to the list if you tell me which category or categories apply. After all, that is the purpose of this list - I don’t know of every solution out there, and even of the ones I know of, I may not know the estate planning capabilities of each.
Note: For the time being, I have left off digital vault services for passwords and account numbers, mainly because there are so many solutions that are not estate-specific yet are preferred or marketed direct-to-consumer in this space that it is difficult to capture an objectively useful list. Michael Kitces also has captured these services on his map linked above, so for now I defer to the solutions he and his team have chosen to list. I know that may anger you, and I apologize, but the omission is temporary until I can get a better sense of this crowded landscape.
Without further adieu, here are the categories and the list.
Categories of Tech:
Estate Mapping and Calculation
Preface: This list is based on a growing class of tech solutions that are designed to generate visual and/or text summaries of existing or proposed estate planning documents or solutions. In addition or alternatively, these solutions may help with the tax/value calculation or flow of funds for various strategies as well.
AI Review Tools for Estate Planning Documents
Preface: Data security remains a concern, which is why I have only included one AI review service of general application - the enterprise version of Microsoft Copilot. Certain popular solutions, such as ChatGPT and Claude.ai, may not provide sufficient security and privacy. The other solutions listed have developed, or are developing, secure uploads and analyses of documents.
Estate Education
Preface: Some of these reflect industry stalwarts. But, the general emphasis is not on continuing education, but instead on those peers who like me are in the education and advice engagement space.
Document Generation
Preface: I have taken some liberty to list solutions that market directly to advisors, as providers in this space may be forced into that model due to a history of legal action against peer providers for unauthorized practice of law. That being said, I have listed solutions that at least appear friendly to attorney use, and by no means am I promoting or advocating for the exclusive use of these services in lieu of engaging an estate planning attorney. These are bridge solutions that, as of now, auto-generate starter estate plans with predetermined forms across all states direct-to-consumer or direct-to-advisor.
Forms and Assembly
Preface: Unlike the previous category, these services are provided primarily for attorneys to couple document assembly with state-specific, attorney-drafted or attorney-approved forms and clauses. The key difference from the next category is that these solutions package automation and forms together.
Document Automation
Preface: Unlike the prior category, these solutions require an attorney to provide their own forms. Some level of coding may be required, although some of these solutions provide in-house support for automation coding of an attorney’s own forms.
Trust and Estate Administration
Preface: These tools assist with the data gathering, flow of assets, and/or project management of estate and trust administration projects.
Client Intake and Portals
Preface: These tools focus primarily on the client intake process for estate planning and administration, along with creating a secure alternative to e-mail to keep clients updated on the status of estate planning matters specifically. While the prior category has some client portal features, this list includes portals that are specific to the drafting, review, and update of estate planning documents.
Conclusion
As I noted above, I want to remind you of two things:
This is a dynamic, and not a complete, list. I can’t know of every vendor of estate planning software out there. If I omitted you, it is most likely inadvertent. But, my focus is on tools that are not primarily direct-to-consumer - hence my omission of some long-standing services that offer estate planning documents in that capacity.
Likewise, I have intentionally left out vault services for now because there is too much crossover between direct-to-consumer password managers and vaults, advisor-specific digital vaults/file sharing, and estate-specific vaults.
Also, as I mentioned above, I advise some of the companies on this list. To avoid bias, I have not mentioned what these relationships are, nor have I promoted one solution over the other. Everything is listed in alphabetical order.
Finally, some solutions may not be listed in the correct category or in all applicable categories. If that is the case, please let me know, but for multi-function platforms I would prefer to only list solutions in two to three categories. So, please keep in mind what your primary categories are if you perceive miscategorization. Listings in multiple categories above do not reflect bias on my part, but instead knowledge of the product gained from marketing and one-on-one discussions.
Thank you for reading this far, and please stay tuned for more. As I collect input, I will refine this into a visual map.