After putting it off for years, I recently confronted my mortality and created a will.
I used a service called Willing, after noticing it on Groupon. Yes — I purchased a will via Groupon. It took roughly 15 minutes to complete.
As a single woman with modest belongings, I assumed converting my life into a document to guide my loved ones in the event of my early death would be straightforward.
Also, the Groupon cost $28. What was there to lose?
How to Get an Affordable Will Without Speaking to Anyone
Certain online legal platforms let you draft a will or a full estate plan digitally, often with an option to consult an attorney through the service.
Willing’s offering, however, is fully automated, so there’s no risk of being upsold extras. Your $69 (the full price without Groupon) covers a last will, a living will and a durable power of attorney.
Michael Delgado, general counsel at Willing, explained that in addition to studying state-specific laws affecting wills, the team examines actual wills filed in court. Those filings help them spot common pitfalls for clients and identify areas the software must handle correctly.
Why pick an inexpensive automated tool over a local attorney relationship? Delgado said that affordable legal services are out of reach for many people. An online tool lowers barriers for adults at any stage who don’t yet have a will. “We’re often taking someone who knows nothing and empowering them,” he said.
Using Willing felt like completing an advanced Mad Libs.
Answer a prompt, select a scenario, type a name. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Typing someone’s name once lets you pick them from a drop-down later when assigning roles in your estate.
Minutes later I downloaded a file with my will’s draft, plus guidance on notarization and witness signatures. The software completed roughly 95% of the work, but I still had to finalize the process to ensure the document’s legal standing.
This fall, because of a change in Nevada law, the company will begin offering online witness signatures and electronic notarization.
But before I finalized everything, I consulted an estate lawyer.
What an Estate Attorney Thought About My Online Will
I asked attorney Sandra Diamond, who has practiced estate planning in Florida since 1981, to examine my document. She admitted she was intrigued by online wills.
When I arrived at her office, she had already annotated the copy I’d provided.
First, she highlighted positive aspects: my will declared I was of sound mind and memory (indeed) and that this document would revoke any prior wills I might have made (no prior wills here). It also spelled out specific actions my executor could take to manage my estate prudently.
But she circled several elements that concerned her. One was how I planned to distribute my (limited) assets.
I had named two family members as beneficiaries of my retirement account. How generous. However, Diamond noted that a will doesn’t supersede the beneficiary designation on the account itself. You can name someone in your will to receive personal property, but if the title or beneficiary designation on an account conflicts with the will, the named beneficiary on the account prevails.
I then told her the two beneficiaries I listed are under 18. “A minor can’t directly inherit above certain thresholds,” Diamond said. “You need a trust provision and a guardian named.”
Diamond offered another pointer about asset distribution: If you leave a retirement account to your estate rather than naming a beneficiary on the account, the funds often must be withdrawn that same year and taxed in full. Naming a beneficiary lets that person take required minimum distributions over time and pay taxes only on the amounts withdrawn.
That portion of the conversation left me feeling inexperienced. But we kept going.
Diamond advised being as specific as possible in your will. For example, I had checked a box indicating I wanted to donate my body to science. “That’s too vague,” she said.
I had also selected that I would “leave it to my family to decide” on funeral arrangements.
“Family usually means next of kin,” Diamond explained, “but you should name a specific person when possible.”
Delgado at Willing noted that a will typically doesn’t control final arrangements. The choices available in the Willing software serve as a fallback if you haven’t already communicated your wishes to someone.
I asked Delgado about another snag Diamond raised: Florida law requires a personal representative — the person chosen to execute a will — to be either a blood relative or a Florida resident. Fortunately, my personal representative is a blood relative. But what if I’d picked a friend living across the country to settle my estate?
Delgado said people become overwhelmed when presented with too much legal detail, so an automated system can’t cover every exception.
“The data suggests that it’s not the sort of issue most people will encounter,” he said.
Cheap Online Wills: Smart Bargain or Trouble?
So, was my purchase money well spent?
Although Willing has limitations, it seemed to address most concerns for someone with a relatively simple situation like mine.
Diamond, however, remained skeptical. “Everyone wants value,” she said. “I’m not convinced, except in very straightforward instances, that you truly get value” from an online will like mine.
She argued that someone casually filling in blanks (as I did) might miss essential steps needed to make a will legally robust. Overlooked details could make estate settlement lengthy and costly.
“A mistake can result in huge expense,” she warned.
Delgado noted that an online will isn’t suitable for very wealthy individuals (think net worth of $10 million-plus) or for families with children who have special needs. Still, the company’s legal research identifies the most critical features new will-makers need, he said.
I posed another question to Diamond: Could I economize by creating an online will and then taking it to an attorney for review and amendments?
She replied that the time required to review a pre-made document would often cost more than preparing one from scratch.
“You have to know all the facts, and sometimes people don’t even know those themselves,” she said.
Getting your accounts aligned — and ensuring beneficiary designations match your will — may require discussion with an attorney. A local lawyer will be most familiar with state and local statutes.
What about cost? Fees vary widely, so it’s best to call and ask attorneys for their price ranges to draft a will. “You can shop around,” she advised.
Lisa Rowan is a senior writer at Savinly.
