AdviceTech Podcast #167 - BillWill

In this episode of the AdviceTech Podcast, host Patrick Collins interviews Colin Zhao, co-founder of BillWill, a platform transforming estate planning from a static document process into a living, ongoing service for financial advisors and their clients. Colin shares his personal motivation—losing his father in 2020 and discovering the emotional and logistical chaos caused by a missing bill payment in his father’s 70-page 'Letter From Your Dead Husband'—which inspired him to build a solution that bridges the gap between financial plans, wills, and the full spectrum of a client’s life. BillWill offers advisors a white-labeled portal that helps clients create a comprehensive 'Letter of Wishes'—a non-binding, digital-first document that organizes financial, practical, and personal information. The platform integrates open banking to track subscriptions and bills, enabling automated closure or transfer upon death or incapacity, saving families 200–300 hours of post-loss stress. It also uses AI to guide users through emotionally sensitive tasks like writing care letters, reducing the psychological burden of estate planning. The episode highlights how BillWill turns estate planning into a trust-building, client-engaging service that aligns with ethical best interest obligations and leverages behavioral science to combat procrastination. Key takeaways include: 1) Estate planning should be a living service, not a one-off document; 2) Advisors can use BillWill to deepen client relationships and position themselves as trusted legacy stewards; 3) Open banking integration helps prevent post-death financial chaos by tracking and managing subscriptions; 4) AI can reduce emotional barriers in sensitive tasks like writing care letters; 5) The platform’s security model prioritizes privacy and prevents financial abuse by restricting access to only the advisor (with client consent) and legacy contacts (who only trigger access); 6) BillWill’s modular, easy-to-use design makes adoption simple despite the perceived complexity of estate planning. Overall, the episode presents a compelling case for integrating holistic estate planning into financial advice practice as both a strategic and ethical imperative.