Transparency

Affiliate Disclosure

We keep this site free by earning a commission from some — not all — of the products we link to. Here is exactly how that works, and the rules we follow so our recommendations stay honest.

Last updated: August 2026

We may earn a commission — at no cost to you

Some of the links on The Estate Gap are affiliate links. If you click one and sign up for or buy a product, we may receive a commission from that company. You never pay more because you used our link — the price is the same whether you go through us or straight to the provider. These commissions help cover the cost of researching resources and keeping the guides on this site free.

Not every link is an affiliate link, and we do not earn anything on most of the outbound resources we mention. When a link is a paid relationship, we mark it with the rel="sponsored" attribute, consistent with FTC guidance and search-engine disclosure standards.

Our recommendations are not for sale

This is the part that matters most: a company cannot pay us to rank higher, look better, or appear in a comparison it does not belong in. Our rankings and "best of" lists are not paid placements. We order products by objective, published criteria — never by which partner pays us the most, or pays us at all.

We explain exactly how we evaluate and order products on our methodology page. If a product is the best fit for a reader, it earns its place whether or not we make a dime from it.

Editorial independence

The team that writes and ranks our content is independent of any commercial relationship. Affiliate partners do not review, approve, or edit our content before it is published. If our honest assessment of a product changes, the content changes — even if that product is a partner. We would rather lose a commission than mislead a reader who is about to make one of the largest financial decisions of their life.

Where compensation can arise on this site

The Estate Gap covers estate and legacy planning. We are not a law firm, an insurance agency, a broker-dealer, or a registered investment adviser, and nothing here is legal, tax, or investment advice. The three places a commercial relationship could exist are:

  • Life insurance. If you ask to be connected with a licensed agent, the agent or carrier may compensate us for the introduction. Any policy is sold and serviced by a licensed agent — not by us — and the price you pay is set by the carrier and state filing, not by our involvement.
  • Fiduciary-advisor matching. If you use a matching service we link to, we may earn a referral fee. We link only to services that match you with advisers held to a fiduciary standard, and we do not receive anything tied to what you ultimately invest in.
  • Document and planning tools. Will and trust software, document storage, and similar tools may pay a standard affiliate commission if you sign up through our link, at no additional cost to you.

In every case the compensation is for the introduction or the signup. We do not take a share of premiums, assets under management, or any ongoing fee you pay, and no partner can buy a recommendation. If you would rather we not be in the middle at all, every one of these categories can be reached directly without us, and we will tell you so.

Questions?

If anything here is unclear, or you want to know whether a specific link is an affiliate link, ask us on our contact page. We are happy to explain.