Missy Bock

What are you passionate about outside of work?
Family, faith, music, reading

What is your daily life like at Vanilla?
I usually meet with several existing customers over video and try to help them to realize all the benefits of the platform.  It’s my job to make sure they have an excellent overall experience with Vanilla.

What gets you excited to keep coming to work every day?
I love the people I work with.  They’re caring and kind, and they care about you as a whole person, not just as an employee or what you can do for them.  It really is like a family.  I also love building meaningful relationships with customers and working in a space that has impact on people’s lives.

How does Vanilla help you to have a healthy work/life balance?
I have a young child, so work/life balance is a requirement for me.  I have the flexibility I need to work around doctor’s appointments, snow days, etc.; but also the boundaries I need to protect family time.

How did you end up in estate planning?
Quite by accident.  I started consulting for Vanilla through a friend during COVID, and eventually it turned into a full-time position.  It was the people who drew me in, and passion for the mission grew as I learned more about the industry.

What do you see in the future of estate planning?
Tech will be key.  Younger generations demand tech-enabled solutions, and they also prefer straightforward visualizations.  They need something that will cut through the noise and quickly tell them what they need to know without the fluff.  I hope they will also come to appreciate the importance of Estate Planning in general.  People don’t tend to think about it until they start a family which is happening later in life for many, myself included.

How do you see estate planning impacting people’s lives?
Estate planning is so much more than just the rich protecting their wealth.  It’s about helping someone to make an impact on the world through their loved ones or the charities they care about.  Estate planning helps people to reflect on what it is they do care about and how they want to be remembered; their legacy.  Also, the last thing you want to do when you’re trying to mourn the passing of a loved one is guess at what their wishes were or fight with family.  It’s a worthwhile cause to prevent families from being torn apart.