When narrowing your selection on the best online Wills in Canada, you may be contemplating between LegalWills vs Willful.
Depending on what you’re looking for and your needs, both Online Will services can claim the title of the best Online Wills provider in Canada.
No doubt, their services and offerings are similar but with different pricing, making it hard to know which is the best for you or if paying more for one is justified.
This LegalWills vs Willful comparison covers everything you need to know about the two leading online Will service providers in Canada. At the end, you’ll be able to make an informed choice.
Let’s get started…
LegalWills Overview
LegalWills is a leading online Will service provider in Canada, offering a wide range of legally binding documents at competitive pricing.
Founded in 2000, LegalWills provides competitive Will services across all the provinces and territories of Canada.
This Ontario-based online will service provider also allows Canadians to protect their assets in the US and UK through its Expatriate Will. Canadians living in the US and UK can also protect their assets in Canada with the same service.
Overall, LegalWills stands out in the competition with its unique services that you can’t easily find elsewhere. In fact, more than 2 million Canadians have trusted LegalWills for their wills.
The affordability of LegalWills packages also stands out when comparing it to the other players in the Canadian Online Wills space.
Even better, you can get a discount of 20% on any of LegalWills packages using this link and the LegalWills.ca coupon code WALLET20.
Pros of LegalWills
- Multiple Wills products and services
- Low affordable pricing
- National and international coverage
- Competitive discount
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons of LegalWills
- Free unlimited update for the first year but charges $11.95 for subsequent updates.
Learn more: LegalWills Review
LegalWills Packages & Pricing
LegalWills is a leader when it comes to offering a wide range of affordable legal documents in Canada. Here are the current LegalWills’ packages with their corresponding pricing.
1. Last Will and Testament
Pricing: $39
Create your Last Will and Testament with a legally-binding document customized for all provinces and territories in Canada.
2. Living Will
Pricing: $19.95
Also known as Power of Attorney for Health Care, a Living Will lets you state your wishes about your medical care or treatments.
If you’re ever unable to communicate your health care wishes, a living Will will spell out what type of medical care or treatments you want or don’t want.
3. Power of Attorney
Pricing: $29.95
A power of attorney is a legal document that gives a person the right to make financial decisions on your behalf in the event of your mental or other incapacities.
Like a living Will, these documents are used while you’re still alive but unable to give instructions about your health and finances.
A Legal Will on the other hand becomes effective when the owner dies.
4. Mirror Wills
Pricing: $63.92
With Mirror Wills, you and your partner write your own Wills assigning each other as a major beneficiary.
Currently, LegalWills offers a 40% discount on Mirror Wills for partners. That is, only one of the partners will pay the full price of $39, while the other pays $23.97.
5. Document Printing Service
Pricing: $9.95
Once you’re done with your chosen Will document on the LegalWills platform, you must print it and sign it to make it legal in Canada.
You have the option to print the complete Will on your own. But you may choose to let LegalWills mail it to you instead at a competitive price of $9.95.
6. Expatriate Will
Pricing: $39.95
This service allows you to protect your assets in the US or UK while in Canada. You can also protect your assets in Canada while in the US and UK.
7. Life Locker
Pricing: $29.95
Making your Will easily accessible to your executor is essential to having your wishes come to pass when you’re no more.
With this package, you can identify and store all your relevant documents and information for easy access. This includes your passwords, contacts or account details.
8. Lawyer Review
Pricing: $69
If you want the extra peace of mind or want to avoid costly mistakes, you can pay for the addon service of a review by a professional lawyer.
This service is especially recommended for people with some complicated situations that will benefit from an extra set of professional eyes on their Will.
9. Funeral Wishes
Pricing: Free
This package allows you to document your funeral wishes at no cost. This will help avoid confusion about where, how and when to bury your remains.
Willful Overview
Willful Wills is another top online Will service provider in Canada that was established in 2017. It offers an intuitive and easy platform for both individuals and families looking to get a Will online in Canada.
The company currently services only eight provinces in Canada as follows:
- Alberta
- Ontario
- British Columbia
- Nova Scotia
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
In addition to competitive pricing, Willful currently offers a 15% discount to Wallet Bliss readers using this link and use the coupon code: WALLETBLISS.
If you think your situation will change soon or frequently and are concerned about Will updates, the Willful pricing comes with enjoy unlimited free updates for the rest of your life.
Furthermore, you can save $40 by storing your will for free at Canada Will Registry by using any Willful plan.
Pros of Willful Wills
- Easy and intuitive platform
- Competitive pricing
- Unlimited free will update after the first-paid update
- Free will storage at Canada Will Registry
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons of Willful Wills
- Limited packages
- Limited coverage (not available in all Canadian provinces yet)
Learn more: Willful Review
Willful Packages & Pricing
Willful offers three different Will packages with different pricing and features. Though the prices are different, each package includes a Legal Will document.
Let’s take a look at the Willful Wills packages.
1. Legal Essentials
Pricing: $99
This plan offers a single customized document at $99. You can outline all your wishes on this document, assigned beneficiaries, guardians and your Will executor.
This package is ideal for single individuals with minors or young children.
2. Premium Coverage
Pricing: $189
This package contains advanced features, including all the features of the Essential plan.
Unlike the Essential plan, this plan provides up to three documents including powers of attorney to dictate your wishes for your finances and medical emergencies.
Like the Essential plan, this plan is also ideal if you have minors or young children that you want someone to take care of in the case of your demise.
3. Premium Coverage for Families
Pricing: $329
A Willful family plan is ideal for couples or partners that want to save cost creating a legally-binding will.
This plan takes $50 off the total cost of two family plans. So instead of paying almost $380 for two individual premium plans, this plan allows you to pay $329 for the same service.
The premium coverage for families plan has all the features of the premium package for individual with four documents per adult.
LegalWills vs Willful Overview
With the overview of the 2 online Wills services out of the way, we’ll now go over the main differences of LegalWills vs Willful.
Here’s an highlight:
| Feature | LegalWills | Willful |
|---|---|---|
| Supported Locations | All Canadian provinces and territories, US and UK. | Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick |
| Basic Will Pricing | $39.95 | $99 |
| Promotions | 20% discount for Wallet Bliss readers and 40% off for a second Mirror Will. | 15% discount for Wallet Bliss readers and $50 off for a second family plan. |
| Will Update | $0 fee for the first year. $11.95 fee applies for a future update. | Unlimited free update after the first payment. |
| Will Registry | Free (at Canada Will Registry) | Free (at Canada Will Registry) |
| Will Storage | $29.95 (Life Locker fee) | N/A |
Next in this LegalWills vs Willful comparison, we’ll take a deep dive into the difference and similarities of both Will writing services.
LegalWills vs Willful: Supported Locations
LegalWills covers more locations than Willful. While Wilful supports only eight provinces in Canada, LegalWills covers all the provinces and territories.
Furthermore, LegalWills supports international protection of assets through its Expatriate Will package. This option is not available on Willful.
LegalWills vs Willful: Packages
No doubt, both LegalWills and Willful have competitive packages that covers the need of most of their prospective customers. However, LegalWills has more packages or services than Willful.
For example, you can only access the following packages on LegalWills:
- Legal review by estate planning lawyer
- Funeral wishes
- Expatriate Will (for assets coverage in the US and UK)
LegalWills vs Willful: Pricing
LegalWills have lower pricing than Willful. For example, LegalWills basic Will cost $39.95, while the Willful basic plan costs $99.
Furthermore, a complete estate plan on LegalWills costs $99.95. However, the same plan cost C$149 on Willful.
Of course, after considering your need for regular updates, Willful may actually be a better value for money. But if you won’t need regular updates to your Will, then LegalWills is an affordable option.
LegalWills vs Willful: Promotions
Again LegalWills is the winner when it comes to welcome promotions and discounts on plans. LegalWills offer a 20% discount for Wallet Bliss readers while Willful offers 15%.
Also, LegalWills take 40% off for a second Mirror Will, while Willful takes only C$50 off for a second family plan.
Learn more about LegalWills Promotions here and Willful Wills promotions here.
LegalWills vs Willful: Wills Update
Willful is the winner when it comes to online Wills updates. Willful allows you to unlimitedly update your Will free after the first-paid update.
On the other hand, LegalWills offer a one-time free update and charge $11.95 per subsequent update.
LegalWills vs Willful: Interface & UI
Willful Wills is a clear winner here with its modern look, great and intuitive interface and overall straightforward and easy-to-follow workflow.
Both services promise to get you a completed legal Will in less than 20 minutes.
LegalWills vs Willful: Which to Choose?
From multiple packages to low pricing, LegalWills beats Willful in many aspects. But due to their unique features, you may want to look beyond and above to narrow your selection.
But Willful also beats LegalWills in terms of Will updates, Will storage and interface/UI. If you prioritize free unlimited Will update and free storage over other factors, then Willful is your perfect choice.
With time, Willful will no doubt continue to expand the documents supported, provincial coverage and add more unique features to its offerings.
Till then, if you’re simply looking at the number of legal documents supported, lower pricing, and a cost-effective online Will service provider in Canada, then LegalWills beats Willful hands down.
In summary:
Choose LegalWills if you:
- Want to pay the lowest price for an online Will in Canada
- Don’t need frequent or regular updates to Will
- Live in one of the provinces not supported by Willful yet.
On other other hand, you should choose Willful Wills if:
- You’re young or expect several changes to your situation in the future and therefore need to make frequent changes to your Will
- Want a clean, easy to follow and intuitive platform
- Live in one of the supported provinces
Overall, the choice is yours to make as you can’t make the wrong choice with either LegalWills vs Willful.
LegalWills vs Willful vs Alternatives
Depending on your budget and estate situation, Neither LegalWills nor Willful may suit your need when looking for the best will service in Canada. This is where a DIY Will kit or estate lawyer comes into play.
1. DIY Will Kit
A DIY Will kit could be your cost-effective alternative to LegalWills and Willful if you know all the Will-making requirements in your province or territory.
The advantage of the DIY Will kit over the online Will kit is the convenience and cost-saving experience. All you need is to fill in the blank of the kit and sign it with your two witnesses.
However, DIY Will kits are not easy to update like online Will skit. Also you may not get the best result from them since they are not customized, especially if you have a complex estate situation.
Learn more: Best Free Will Kits in Canada
2. Estate Planning Lawyers
Talking about complex situations like children from a previous marriage, leaving a trust for a disabled child etc, an estate planning lawyer could be your best option when thinking of writing a Will.
While estate planning lawyers are more expensive than the online Wills services, you’re paying for their expertise and the peace of mind that everything is in order and your wishes will be respected.
FAQs
LegalWills is a legit online Wills service provider with over 2 million users in Canada. With over 21 years of experience in the industry, an A+ rating on Business Bureau (BBB), and a 30-day money-back guarantee, LegalWills stands by what it offers.
Willful is a legit online Will service provider in Canada with an A+ rating on Business Bureau (BBB) and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Over 50,000 legal documents have been created through Willful since its inception in 2017.
Willful Wills is arguably the best Online Wills provider in Canada with its ease, convenience and unlimited updates of the documents. LegalWills is definitely a close contender with its affordable pricing and range of legal documents supported.
Once filled properly, Online Wills and will kits are considered legal, just like any other Will in Canada. For a Will to be considered legal in Canada, the testator must sign it in the presence of their two witnesses. The testator must also witness the signing of the Will by their two witnesses.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, you now have all the information you need to make an informed choice between LegalWills vs Willful.
Both services have been used by thousands of Canadians, millions in LegalWills’ case, and they have excellent reviews from their past users.
That means, you really can’t go wrong with either Online Will provider as long as you choose the one that best meets your needs.
In the end, the choice is yours to make. If you need more help in determining the best way to make your Will, let us know in the comment section below.
Another excellent online Will provider in Canada is Epilogue Wills. Check here for a review of its services.
That brings us to the end of this comparison. Kindly explore our other relevant posts for more information on how to save costs using the best products and services in Canada.
