A spokesperson for the estate planning fintech cited AI’s reshaping of the industry as Trust & Will restructures its business.
Estate planning fintech Trust & Will has undergone layoffs as part of a restructuring, a company spokesperson told InvestmentNews in an email dated July 2.
“Last week, Trust & Will made the decision to restructure parts of the business. This wasn’t performance-related; it reflects how quickly the estate planning and broader wealth tech category is evolving, particularly with AI reshaping where value sits in the space,” said a spokesperson for Trust & Will.
Among those laid off was former product marketing manager Maya Powers, who was at Trust & Will for five years, according to her post on LinkedIn. She had described her layoff as being part of a “company-wide reduction.” Trust & Will declined to share the number of layoffs that occurred. Tracxn, an intelligence platform for private company research, marked Trust & Will as having 160 employees as of April 30.
“We’re concentrating resources on the areas that compound long-term value for our members. We’re not sharing specific headcount figures, but the company remains well-resourced and focused on long-term growth,” added the spokesperson from Trust & Will.
Most Americans lack estate planning
Trust & Will says it has more than one million users on its digital estate planning software, which is accessed by more than 26,000 financial advisors and supports over $300 billion in self-reported estate assets. The company has more than 145 enterprise partners across banks, financial institutions, attorneys, nonprofits, and real estate agents — including AARP, Fifth Third Bank, UBS, USAA, LPL Financial, and Northwestern Mutual.
San Diego-based Trust & Will was founded in 2017 by Cody Barbo, Daniel Goldstein, and Brian Lamb. The company has raised $75 million across multiple funding rounds from investors UBS, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, Moderne Ventures, Amex Ventures, and SEI Ventures, among others. In Trust & Will’s $25 million Series C funding announcement from March 2025, the company said its round would support continued investment in artificial intelligence, adding that AI is “fundamental to the future of estate planning.”
“AI enables families and advisors to plan with greater clarity and confidence,” CEO Cody Barbo said in Trust & Will’s press release from March 2025. “By combining technology with human compassion, we’re transforming how people protect and preserve their legacies.”
Trust & Will has paid for high-profile marketing campaigns in recent years, including a national TV commercial that featured NFL star quarterback Matthew Stafford and his coach Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams. In 2023, Trust & Will announced a multi-year deal to become the official estate planning partner of National Women’s Soccer League club San Diego Wave, followed by another deal with the LA Kings of the NHL.
Amid the ongoing mega-generational transfer of wealth, research from Trust & Will found that 55% of U.S. adults do not have any estate planning documents. The company’s surveys found that Will ownership dropped five percentage points from 31% in 2025 to 26% in 2026, while trust ownership increased three points.
Americans are increasingly trusting AI for estate planning, with Trust & Will’s research showing 30% of adults trust AI more than a human attorney for estate planning guidance, up 10 points from 20% in 2025. In Trust & Will’s 2026 Financial Advisor Report, 68% of advised clients said they would consider switching to another financial advisor who offers estate planning services.
Trust & Will’s estate planning market share
According to the 2026 T3/Inside Information Software Survey on the fintech landscape for financial advisors, Trust & Will has a 6.64% market share among estate planning tools. Trust & Will’s market share ranks fifth behind eMoney (14.42%), Wealth.com (13.73%), RightCapital (10.22%) and Holistiplan (9.94%), but ahead of competitors such as FP Alpha, EncorEstate Plans, Vanilla, and Envestnet Wealth Studios.
Per the careers section of Trust & Will’s website, the company has listed two open roles as a staff cloud engineer and performance marketing manager. Trust & Will employs a remote-first workforce, and its open marketing job description reiterates the company’s commitment to using artificial intelligence.
“You’ll also be expected to bring AI fluency to the work. We’re a lean team, and the marketers who succeed here will use Claude, agentic workflows, automations, and prompt-based tooling to move faster, analyze deeper, and get more leverage out of every hour. This isn’t a bonus, it’s how we operate,” reads part of Trust & Will’s performance marketing manager job description.
