This Willful review covers the services of one of Canada’s best online Will writing services.
A Will is a legal document that allows you to dictate how your assets will be distributed and what happens to your dependents after you pass away. Having a Will is an important step to ensure that your ultimate legacy and final wishes are executed properly.
In the past, when one thought of having a Will, it often involved visiting a lawyer’s office and filling out papers. Fortunately, you can now create a Will conveniently online.
With Willful, you don’t have to worry about unnecessary stress and delays. In fact, you can create a Will with only a few clicks from the comfort of your home. Willful provides you with a convenient online Will solution and allows you to keep all your family members legally protected.
This Willful review is going to cover everything that you need to know about this service including what exactly it is, how it works, and how it compares to other Will providers.
What Is Willful?
Willful is an online service founded in 2017 that helps Canadians create a legal will from the comfort of their homes, 24/7.
It was built by a team of legal and technology professionals who wanted to make the experience of making a Will as simple, secure, and transparent as possible.
As a result, Willful is committed to helping Canadians prepare for their future and understand what they can do now to make sure they are prepared for the unexpected.
You can use Willful to make a legal last will and testament from any computer, tablet or smartphone. And you can do so in less than 20 minutes. With Willful, you can make a simple Will for $99. The Willful pricing comes with unlimited free updates for the rest of your life.
Also, Willful guides your through the entire Will creation process with prompts and information on each section of your Will so you know exactly what you’re doing.
At the end of the process, once you have completed your order and payment has been processed, you can download your completed Will and go through the signing process to make it legal.
How Much Does Willful Cost?
Willful charges a one-time fee to cover the cost of creating your will and any future updates you make. There are no additional fees, no hidden costs, and no subscriptions.
Willful offers three different plans for you to choose from, each plan comes with different prices and features. Here is a side by side comparison of the cost of the three plans:
| Features | Essentials | Premium | Family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $99 | $189 | $329 |
| No of Documents | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Legal Will | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Powers of attorney | No | Yes | Yes |
Legal Essentials Plan
Willful Legal Essentials plan costs $99. With this plan, you can state how you’d like your estate shared and name the individuals who you want to carry out your wishes.
Additionally, you can provide your death wishes and name guardians for your small kids. You can also make as many changes as necessary at no additional cost.
According to Willful, this plan will save you an average of $200 compared to visiting a lawyer to write your Will.
Premium Coverage Plan
The Willful Premium Coverage plan is available for $189 and includes everything you get with the Essentials plan. In addition, you get 3 extra documents for a total of 4 documents.
These documents include:
- Last Will and Testament
- Power of attorney for finance and property
- Power of attorney for healthcare, i.e. living will
- Asset list document
With the Premium plan, you get full protection with all the documents you need to protect your assets and loved ones. Also, you’ll save an average of $350 compared to the cost of using a lawyer to write your Will.
Premium Coverage for Families
Want all the features of Willful and the ability to add a spouse or other family members? If so, the Willful Premium Coverage for Families plan is for you.
Willful Premium Coverage for Families offers a very affordable solution for couples and families that need legal services. The family plan costs $329 for 2 adults and $125 for extra adults up to a total of 6.
This plan allows you to access all of the features of the Premium plan for a lower cost per adult than buying 2 individual plans. Therefore, if there is more than one adult in your family, consider the Willful Family plan.
With this Willful plan, you’ll save an average of $850 compared to the cost of using a lawyer to write your Will.
Note: The Will you get with your spouse using the Willful family plan is not a Mirror Will or Joint Will. Willful used to offer this type of Will but they’ve now replaced it with individual Wills for each spouse.
Get 15% off the price of any Willful plan using the coupon code WALLETBLISS and by clicking the button below.
How Do You Write a Will With Willful?
Willful online platform is designed to make it easy to create a Will without the help of a lawyer or notary.
To create a Will with Willful, you will need to sign up and select your preferred plan from the three plans offered by Willful.
After creating an account, you will be required to answer short questions about your family, finances, death and health care wishes.
Once you answer those questions, Willful uses those answers to prepare the documents you need to protect your family and your properties. The documents can then be downloaded and printed at home.
Also, Willful includes plenty of guidance along the way so that you know exactly what to do with your documents when they’re done.
The best part? Willful doesn’t cost hundreds or thousands of dollars like traditional estate planning services. It costs $99 for an individual and $250 for a couple.
Note, however, that you will have to sign your printed Will before two witnesses to make it legally binding.
To summarize, here’s how to write a legal Will through Willful:
- Visit Willful website
- Choose one of the 3 available plans
- Provide answers to the questionnaire
- Willful generates your documents
- Download and print your completed Will and other documents
- Sign in the presence of witnesses
That’s all! You now have a completed legal Will. The whole process should not take more than 20 minutes if your have all the information handy.
Willful Pros and Cons
Willful takes the stress out of creating a Will. However, Willful has several pros and cons you need to be aware of before using it for your estate planning needs.
Here are some of the pros and cons of using Willful you should be aware of before you make your decision:
Pros
- Fast and online service
- Cost-effective and user-friendly
- Willful allows you to make unlimited changes to your Will
- You get free Will storage at Canada Will Registry
- It includes a pet coverage
- An option for philanthropic donation is included
Cons
- It is not available in all the provinces in Canada
- Limited plans at the moment
Is Willful Safe?
Willful has been built with the same high level of security as some of the largest financial institutions in Canada.
It takes security extremely seriously. Willful makes use of AES-256 block-level storage encryption, which makes it much more difficult for hackers to gain unauthorized access to your account and data.
The information you share with Willful is also encrypted so in the unlikely event of an unauthorized access, your data will be kept safe.
Is Willful Right for Me?
If you have young children, a Will is pretty much necessary. If you die without one, the court will appoint a guardian for your child and access to their inheritance may be held up for years due to administrative delays.
Willful is a great option for someone who wants to write their Will but doesn’t want to pay a lot to a lawyer to do it. It’s also ideal for someone who has a simple estate.
For example, if you have kids, and you want your partner to get custody of them before the court system gets involved, then you definitely need a will from Willful.
On the other hand, Willful may not be suitable if you have complex needs. For instance, you have assets in several countries, want to use an executor that lives in another province or country, have children from multiple marriages and so on.
Also, if you want to leave money or assets to an organization via a trust fund or have other complex assets like farm properties or business assets, then it’s best to consult a lawyer who can help walk through all of the options.
Willful vs LegalWills vs Epilogue Wills Key Features Compared
Willful is a great option for anyone who wants to create a valid Will from the comfort of their own home. However, there are many Will-writing services available in Canada.
In the next sections of this Willful review, let’s compare Willful features to some of the top services below to help you make an informed decision about which one is right for you.
| Key Features | Willful | LegalWills | Epilogue Wills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing of a basic package for individuals | $99 | $39 | $139 |
| Availability | Alberta Ontario B.C Saskatchewan Nova Scotia Quebec Manitoba New Brunswick | All Province | Alberta Ontario British Columbia Saskatchewan Manitoba Nova Scotia New Brunswick PEI Newfoundland & Labrador |
| Packages offered | Essential Premium Family plan | Last Will and Testament Premium Last Will Testament Complete Estate Plan Premium Estate Plan | Will only Will Plus Incapacity Documents |
| User-friendly | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pet coverage | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited changes | Yes | No | Yes |
Willful vs LegalWills vs Epilogue Wills: Pricing
The three services offer options to create a package that includes multiple documents. However, they both offer their services at different prices.
Willful offers a basic Will at $99, LegalWills offers a basic Will at $39, while Epilogue Wills offers a basic plan at $139.
Overall, if you are looking for the best price for a basic Will then LegalWills is obviously the best option. However, you’ll need to pay extra each time you need to update your Will.
So if you’re still relatively young and expect several changes in the coming years, Willful is more cost-effective with its free unlimited changes.
Willful vs LegalWills vs Epilogue Wills: Availability
LegalWills is the only option among the three services that is available in all provinces and territories in Canada. Willful and Epilogue Wills are available in only certain provinces.
Willful Wills is only available in:
- Alberta
- Ontario
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- Saskatchewan
- New Brunswick
- Nova Scotia
- Quebec
Also, Epilogue Wills is only available 9 provinces including Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI.
Therefore, if you’re in a province where Willful and Epilogue Wills are not available, your only choice is LegalWills.
Willful vs LegalWills vs Epilogue Wills: Packages Offered
The packages offered by each company differ. Willful and Epilogue offers different packages that lets you prepare a basic legal Will with powers of attorney.
LegalWills offers the same documents with extra services such as Life Locker that stores your information and passes them to your loved ones; Digital Vault to store important documents you want passed to your family or executor; and many more.
Willful vs LegalWills vs Epilogue Wills: User-Friendly
All three platforms are easy to navigate. They have a user-friendly interface, and you can create your will in just a few minutes.
Also, when you scroll down their homepage you can find all the information you need to learn about them and decide whether they’re right for your needs.
That said, Willful has the most user-friendly platform out of the three services.
Willful vs LegalWills vs Epilogue Wills: Pet Coverage
Your pets are part of your family and it’s important to make sure they’re provided for once you’re gone.
A pet coverage allows a pet owner to make sure that their pet is cared for when they are no more. This type of coverage is included in all three platform Wills.
Willful vs LegalWills vs Epilogue Wills: Unlimited Changes
Epilogue includes free unlimited changes in all their plans. That means you can update your Will anytime you like or whenever you have any major life event like childbirth, divorce and so on.
On the other hand, LegalWills offers free unlimited updates for the first year only. An extra cost of $11.95 will apply for each year you make updates afterwards.
Willful also offers unlimited updates with their annual membership plan that costs $19 per year and also includes annual reminders and guidance, Annual Canada Will Registry registration, Funeral and burial wishes and instructions and more.
Willful vs LegalWills vs Epilogue Wills: Which One is the Best?
Although all three services provide you with a document that helps legally distribute your assets, there are some differences to notice between them.
For example, LegalWills has the upper hand when it comes to multiple packages and low pricing. This makes LegalWills a more affordable option than a Willful or an Epilogue Will – at least in the first year.
Beyond the first year, you’ll save more with a Willful plan especially if you’ll need regular or frequent updates to your Will.
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FAQs on Willful Reviews
The following are answers to some of the popular questions people ask on Willful reviews:
Absolutely. Using Willful to create your Will is completely legal, although it costs you a lot less than hiring an attorney.
Creating your Will online is legal in all provinces and territories throughout Canada. However, not every online Will firm is available in every province.
Only spouse or legal partners, and certain close relations are eligible to inherit from a person who dies without leaving a Will. The exact sharing ratio varies from one province to another.
In Canada, you are not required to have a lawyer prepare your will. Nevertheless, it is ideal that you seek expert legal assistance while preparing your will if you have a complex situation.
Final Thoughts on Willful Review
Willful is revolutionizing the traditional way of making a Will and is therefore worth using if you want an easy and affordable way to legally protect loved ones.
With Willful, you can create and update your Will without having to leave the comfort of your own home. So overall, my Willful review is very positive. It provides everything you need to ensure your wishes are followed and protect your loved ones.
However, if you’re not sure whether Willful is the right choice for you, you can compare the prices, packages, and features of some of the best online Wills compared above.
So what are you waiting for? Easily create your Will to ensure that your wishes for your loved ones are followed after you’re gone.
Willful Review
Summary
Willful makes it easy and convenient for Canadians to write a legal Will online from the comfort of their homes or anywhere
