LegalWills

Overview

LegalWills is an online estate-planning service for creating Wills, Powers of Attorney and Living Wills, with a White Label API for partners. It suits people who want to prepare core documents and organize legacy information, especially in the United States outside Louisiana. Its one-time document prices are clear, but users must complete required signing and witnessing themselves, and complex estates call for an attorney.

Key features

The MyWill wizard turns plain-language answers into a Will formatted for the user’s local jurisdiction. That guided approach can make core planning more approachable, but the generated document is not complete as a legal document until printed, signed and witnessed under applicable requirements. LegalWills supports U.S. document services in 49 states; Louisiana residents need another option.

Beyond documents, members can record funeral wishes and final messages, store personal records and files, and designate up to 20 Keyholders to unlock selected information when appropriate. This makes the service relevant to people planning for both their estate and the practical handoff of important information. It is not a trust-planning product.

Accounts support two-factor authentication. LegalWills says data in transit uses 256-bit SSL encryption and stored data is encrypted with RSA; it also says it takes daily database backups and does not retain credit-card information used for purchases. Support is offered by email, live chat and toll-free phone, with phone service listed from 8am to 8pm EST every day.

The White Label API lets partners embed LegalWills document services in a website or application, set their own pricing and process payments themselves. That flexibility may suit teams seeking an embedded document service, while making the partner responsible for its own pricing and payment flow.

Pricing

LegalWills has no free plan. Its individual document plans are one-time purchases, which avoids a recurring membership charge for the listed documents:

• MyLivingWill™: 19.95 USD per once for a Power of Attorney for Health Care.
• MyPowerOfAttorney™: 29.95 USD per once for a financial power of attorney.
• MyWill™: 49.95 USD per once for a Last Will and Testament, with 1 year of updates included.

The Essentials Package combines MyWill, MyFuneral, MyMessages and MyKeyholders, with 1 year of updates included. The Premium Package adds MyPowerOfAttorney and MyLivingWill to Essentials, also with 1 year of updates. Ultimate adds MyLifeLocker and MyVault to Premium, with 1 year of updates. Each package has custom pricing. Those bundles are the better fit for people seeking legacy services alongside documents, but the listed plans do not provide a price comparison against buying individual documents.

Platforms

LegalWills is available on the web and through an API. The web service is suited to individuals preparing documents directly; the White Label API is for partners embedding document services in their own application or site. LegalWills has operated since 2000 and is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Who it's for

LegalWills is a practical fit for people who need a Will or power of attorney, want to organize end-of-life messages and records, and are comfortable handling document execution in line with local rules. Its API also gives partner teams a way to embed estate-document creation while controlling pricing and payments.

It is not the right substitute for legal advice in complex circumstances. LegalWills advises users with multi-country property, large estates, disputed family circumstances or special-needs dependants to seek an attorney. Its state coverage also rules it out for Louisiana residents.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Plain-language Will creation produces a document customized for the user's jurisdiction, reducing the burden of starting from a blank page.
• Pros: Legacy services, secure file storage and up to 20 Keyholders extend the service beyond document drafting to information handoff.
• Pros: The White Label API lets partners embed the service and manage their own prices and payments.
• Cons: Documents must be printed, signed and witnessed to become legal, so the wizard does not remove the execution steps.
• Cons: U.S. coverage excludes Louisiana, and the product does not support trusts.
• Cons: The bundled packages have custom pricing, making their cost harder to weigh against the individually priced documents.

Alternatives

For an advisor-oriented planning and visualization platform, consider Vanilla: its Advanced plan includes estate visualizations, customizable PDF reports, document creation, balance-sheet integrations, planning opportunities and estate projection, with custom pricing.

Teams needing mobile options and an annual-contract advisor model may prefer Wealth.com, which supports Android, iOS, web and API access; its Estate Planning plan uses advisor-seat pricing, volume discounts, and has no per-client or per-document fees.

Yourefolio is another paid API and web option, with an individual license offering unlimited clients, storage, access and features; choose it when that license model better suits the practice.

For consumers seeking a free entry point, Trust & Will offers a free Basic membership for estate-plan creation without an ongoing membership, alongside a paid Essentials membership at 49.00 USD per year.

Everplans is more focused on organizing information: its free plan stores up to 3 items and includes guidance, a content library and an iOS app, while Premium costs 99.99 USD per year for unlimited items.

People seeking free web-based estate-planning tools may prefer FreeWill, whose free tools include a Last Will & Testament, a California revocable living trust, an advance healthcare directive and a financial power of attorney.

EncorEstate Plans is an alternative for those seeking business assignments or powers-only plans, with one-time plans priced at 100.00 USD and 125.00 USD respectively.

For broader desktop and mobile platform coverage, consider InterActive Legal, which supports Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web and Windows.

Browse more options in Estate Planning Software.

Verdict

LegalWills is best for individuals who want guided creation of core estate documents plus a place to organize legacy information, or partners who want to embed those services through an API. Choose it for straightforward planning, but look elsewhere for Louisiana coverage, trust planning or legal guidance tailored to a complicated estate.