education
Hosted by Jenna Carvalho & Gordon VanderLeek · education · EN-US
Welcome to the “Estates Made Simple” Podcast, hosted by Gordon VanderLeek, a licensed lawyer specializing in wills, estates and trusts, and Jenna Carvalho, an estate and trust consultant with over 10 years experience helping families secure their assets and plan for the future. We are a bi-weekly podcast that discusses the complicated and often confusing world of estate administration. Our goal is to provide you with the insight, knowledge and resources to help you navigate this complex process. Every episode we bring our unique perspective to provide listeners with unbiased information and practical tips to ensure success and mitigate risk. Even if you are not an executor, there will be topics of interest as you consider planning options for your own estate. Join us for helpful tips and important information on navigating estate administration so you can achieve peace of mind as an executor or administrator.
Required Pod Score for this podcast. PitchCentric checks your profile against host openness, topical fit, and audience signals before you generate a pitch.
Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
33%
Guest openness
Selective
Sign up to generate a grounded pitch for Estates Made Simple.
Signup to Generate a PitchWelcome to the “Estates Made Simple” Podcast, hosted by Gordon VanderLeek, a licensed lawyer specializing in wills, estates and trusts, and Jenna Carvalho, an estate and trust consultant with over 10 years experience helping families secure their assets and plan for the future. We are a bi-weekly podcast that discusses the complicated and often confusing world of estate administration.
Estates Made Simple is hosted by Jenna Carvalho & Gordon VanderLeek. The show has published 74 episodes to date.
Recent episodes include "Beneficiary or Successor Holder? Getting Your TFSA Right with Aaron Hector" (28 October 2026, 33 minutes), "The RRIF Tax Trap: When One Family Gets the Money and the Other Gets the Bill" (28 October 2026, 29 minutes), and "Looking Back, Stepping Forward: Jenna’s Transition & What’s Next" (26 November 2025, 23 minutes).
Estates Made Simple publishes roughly every two weeks, with episodes averaging 21 minutes across 74 episodes.
Booking probability for Estates Made Simple is 33%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Estates Made Simple requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Estates Made Simple's contact route on record: verified email.
The strongest fits for Estates Made Simple are Law & Legal Services. Estates Made Simple has an education audience.
Jenna Carvalho & Gordon VanderLeek hosts Estates Made Simple, an education podcast with 74 episodes published.
Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.
Episode #1
Send us Fan Mail Episode Summary In this episode of Estates Made Simple, Gordon sits down with Aaron Hector, financial planner and co-founder of Tier Wealth in Calgary, to tackle a topic that sounds technical but can...
Episode #2
Send us Fan Mail Episode Summary In Part 2 of this conversation on Estates Made Simple, Gordon continues with Aaron Hector of Tier Wealth to look at RRIFs, the new First Home Savings Account, and the mistakes that most...
Episode #74
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>In this special episode of the Estates Made Simple podcast, Gordon VanderLeek is joined one last time by long-time co-host Jenna Carvalho of Guardian Estate Company. After two and a half...
Episode #73
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>In this episode of Estates Made Simple, Gordon and Jenna take listeners back to one of Canada’s most famous, and frankly, most entertaining estate cases: the will of Charles Vance Miller...
Episode #72
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>In this episode of Estates Made Simple, hosts Gordon VanderLeek and Jenna Carvalho deep dive into one of the more nuanced aspects of estate planning, gifting while someone is still alive...
Episode #71
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>In this episode, Gordon and Jenna explore estate planning for divorced and separated couples, one of the most common and complex scenarios in estate law. With nearly half of marriages...
Episode #70
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>In this episode, we’re joined again by Michaela Summers, associate lawyer at VanderLeek Law and head of the estate administration department.</p><p>This is part two of our “Estates Gone...
Episode #69
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>In this episode, Gordon VanderLeek takes the hot seat while co-host Jenna Carvalho fires off some of the most common estate administration and planning questions we’ve heard over the past...
Episode #68
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>In this episode of Estates Made Simple, hosts Jenna Carvalho and Gordon VanderLeek tackle an important and complex topic: estate planning for beneficiaries with special needs. Gordon...
Episode #67
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>In this eye-opening episode of Estates Made Simple, Gord and Jenna are joined by Michaela Summers to share behind-the-scenes stories of estate files that didn’t go according to plan...
Episode #66
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>In this insightful episode, Gordon and Jenna explore one of the most pivotal decisions in estate planning: choosing the right executor. While many focus on asset distribution, the choice...
Episode #65
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>In this episode, Gord and Jenna welcome Randy Frisch, a two-time tech founder and CEO of Trusty Estate, to discuss a common challenge in estate planning: what happens to the meaningful...
Episode #64
<p>Episode Summary</p><p>In this episode, Gord and Jenna explore one of the trickier conversations in estate planning: should you tell your children what they’ll inherit?</p><p>While disclosure will happen eventually...
Episode #63
<p>Episode Summary</p><p>In this week’s episode, Gord and Jenna tackle a question many executors (and planners) may not have thought of: What happens when an executor passes away during the administration of an...
Episode #62
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>Today we’re diving into the world of charitable giving and the growing role of donor-advised funds (DAFs) in estate administration. Special guest Ian Currie from Canada Gives joins Gordon...
Episode #61
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>Digital assets are no longer just a tech issue—they’re a legal, financial, and emotional part of modern estate administration. In this episode, Gordon and Jenna are joined by Nicole...
Estates Made Simple
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>In this episode, Gordon and Jenna dive into the complexities of <b>administering estates with international or cross-border assets</b>. Whether it’s a vacation home in Portugal, a U.S...
Episode #59
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>In this special guest episode of Estates Made Simple, Gordon and Jenna welcome <b>Melissa Best</b>, a seasoned money manager turned tech entrepreneur, who shares her deep insight into why...
Episode #58
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>In this episode, Jenna and Gordon tackle a sometimes <b>controversial</b> topic: <b>executor compensation</b>. Many executors feel hesitant about charging a fee, fearing family pushback...
Episode #57
<p><b>Episode Summary</b></p><p>In this episode, Gordon and Jenna discuss the unique challenges of managing <b>charitable beneficiaries</b> in estate administration. With <b>charitable giving on the rise</b>, executors...
Recent guests on Estates Made Simple. Study who booked and why before you pitch.
Chief Evangelist for Content Experience, City University of Seattle
Trust and Estate Planner, Heritage Trust Company
Guardian Estate Company
VanderLeek Law
PitchCentric classifies Estates Made Simple under these industries. Guests from them are the closest fit, and each links to the best podcasts in that industry.
Shows with the most semantically similar episode content. Pitch one, pitch all; producers cluster.
Estate Planning Made Simple with Vidhya Babu
Trust and Estate Clarity with Dada Law Office
Estate of the Union
Savvy Estate Planning
Bodacious Estate Conversations
Navigating Estate Planning With Rose Harper Law
Is this podcast yours and you'd like to remove or correct details? Request removal or email privacy@pitchcentric.com.
Questions about the free trial? See the pricing FAQ