Willing is a website created by a company called Bequest Inc. The company only came to the market in 2015, but it didn't have to wait long in order to make its way onto our shortlist of the best online will makers. The company’s stated ethos is to ‘make it easy and affordable to create a quality estate plan’ and they claim to have helped more than half a million people create legal documents such as last wills and testaments, trusts and powers of attorney.
Like some of its peers, Willing offers a free service to create a will, but also like most of those companies, they do charge a fee to download and print said document, so it is not a completely free service in the same way that Do Your Own Will is. Willing is not a law firm, and there is no legal support offered through the website.
How much does Willing cost?
- Free to create a document
- To download, there is a fee of $69
In accordance with most online will-preparation solutions, Willing will create your will for free with a few simple steps. Users create an account and at this stage, no credit card information is necessary. Once the document has been created, however, users are taken to a screen with various payment options. To download an individual will incurs a $69 charge. Their Homeowner package comes in at $299, and the Ultimate Care package is $399. The first option is in the arena of industry average for the creation of a document (but is nowhere near as cheap as Law Depot), while the last two options are on the higher end. Individual documents, such as Durable Power of Attorney and similar, can be created cheaper elsewhere too.
Willing review: Products
Willing offers three products. By far the most popular is the Individual Last Will & Testament package at $69, which allows users to leave property to their family and make plans for medical emergencies, and it includes basic versions of a Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney. Unlimited changes are allowed for up to six months. The Homeowner package at $299 includes all of this, plus a Transfer of Property on Death deed (which passes on a user’s property without court fees) and a Revocable Living Trust. The Ultimate Credit package, which costs $399, offers all of this, but also has three years of unlimited changes allowed, physical documents that are delivered overnight, and ‘Premium Customer Support’ including nights and weekends. All documents are offered with a full money-back guarantee.
Willing: Document creation
Creating a last will and testament in the website is very easy, and for a straightforward case such as leaving everything to a spouse, the process takes a matter of minutes. Although the questions are all very basic, there is little in the way of online support, so being prepared is advisable. If you feel you'll need guidance along the way, Quicken WillMaker may be a better choice.
A last will and testament that is legally binding in all 50 states is available to download as soon as users have finished the interview process and paid the fee via credit card. Officially printed documents can also be sent via mail.
Although Willing is not a law firm, the company does offer some basic legal help via their website in the form of an informative blog, searchable via a specific legal term or viewable as a list. The articles cover most of the basics of will preparation and estate planning.
Willing review: Usability
Willing is aimed at creating a basic will covering straightforward circumstances, and as such its process is accessible and easy. The main website is dedicated only to the creation of the document, with one link to their database of legal self-help articles and one link to testimonials about the company. Other than that, users are taken straight into the creation process.
The will is created via a short series of screens, each of which ask the user to click on the information relevant to them. Some names fields are required to be filled, but that aside, there is very little asked of the user other than clicking on the information relevant to them. The screens are bright and clean and user-friendly.
All of the process and the information is stored in the cloud, and so the site can be accessed from any device with an internet connection. The way Willing’s site is designed makes it a particularly good option for users accessing the process from a mobile phone, and it is one of the best-optimised sites for this scenario. There is a customer support helpline, but this does not put users in touch with legal professionals. In any case, the entire process can take less than five minutes.
Should you choose Willing?
Willing is a very user-friendly, easy way to create a Last Will and Testament. The process could not be more simple, and users can create a will in a matter of minutes. The individual will package comes at about an average price for the industry and is legally binding in all 50 states. The premium packages, while comprehensive, offer less value than those of some of the company’s competitors. Extras such as customer service are a little stripped-back, and there is no access to legal consultation, but if all that a user needs is a straightforward will leaving everything to one person, then Willing is a perfectly reasonable service.
