Trust & Will Review: Pros & Cons

Trust & Will is an online estate planning platform that allows you to create documents such as wills, trusts and guardianships. Trust & Will is available entirely online, so you won’t need to download software to your computer. Trust & Will is a great estate planning tool, as it combines a wide range of services with a modern design that’s easy to navigate. While Trust & Will is on the more expensive side, it has the ability to provide significant value to users. If you’re not sure about using an online program to do your estate planning, you may want to work with a financial advisor.

Trust & Will Overview Pros – Simple user experience
– Comprehensive estate planning services
– Documents can be downloaded or mailed Cons – Fairly expensive Best For – Anyone who doesn’t mind paying a bit for a complete set of offerings Trust & Will: Services and Features

Trust & Will is a comprehensive estate planning platform that you can easily use through your computer’s browser. You’ll have access to many different estate planning necessities when you use this service.

More specifically, these services are divided into three main plans: Trust, Will and Guardian. Within these, there are a number of subdivisions, so make sure you have access to exactly what you need. Most of these surround the Will plan, within which you can create a regular will, a living will, a HIPAA authorization and authorize power of attorney.

The company’s Trust and Guardian plans don’t have the same degree of breakdowns, but it’s just as easy to create the type of trust and guardianship documents you need. Plus, you can make as many revisions to your documents as needed in a given year.

Once you’ve completed your forms, Trust & Will allows you to either download your documents or have them mailed at no extra charge. From there, you’ll need yourself and two witnesses to sign your documents. You also may need to get them notarized.

Trust & Will: Pricing Trust & Will’s Fee Structure Membership Tiers – Will: $89
– Trust: $399
– Guardian: $39 Additional charges for spouses – Will: $70 ($159 total)
– Trust: $100 ($499 total)
– Guardianship: $30 ($69 total)

Trust & Will has several different price tiers depending on the types of documents you’d like to create. You can open an account at no charge, but creating and accessing your documents is a paid service. Wills and guardianship documents are the cheapest, with trusts coming in much pricier, mainly due to the fact that trusts are more complex and detailed.

Regardless of whether you download your finalized documents or have them mailed, Trust & Will won’t charge you a delivery fee. In addition, you won’t have to pay for access to customer support. However, if you want to speak with an estate planning attorney about your situation, you’ll need to pay $200 for a year of access.

Trust & Will: Customer Support

Trust & Will is an online platform that grants users access to a plethora of helpful guides and articles that go over all steps of the estate planning process. Trust & Will also has a support phone number and chatline that’s available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. PST on weekends.

While the Will, Trust and Guardian plans don’t come with attorney support, users can purchase a year of unlimited attorney access for $200. If you buy this service, an estate planning attorney will help you review your documents, offer legal advice, review any taxes applicable to your situation and more. You can also, however, opt to set up an appointment with an attorney completely on your own.

Trust & Will: Online Experience

Trust & Will has a great online experience. Its tools are readily available and easily accessible. You also won’t need to download any software, as you can create an account, make payments and edit your documents right in your browser window. This service is relatively young, so the user interface has a modern look to it as well.

When you’re in the process of creating a document, Trust & Will explains each step in simple, but informative detail. You can also see things like the most common answer at each step, which can help you better understand things as you move forward. Even when faced with difficult questions that you might not understand, such as digital assets, specific executor powers or taxes, Trust & Will makes it easy to understand. Plus, as we mention above, you can also chat with a Trust & Will representative for free.

Once you complete your questionnaire, Trust & Will will send it to you at no charge. From there, you may have to see a notary or an attorney, but the document creation process will be finished entirely online.

How Does Trust & Will Stack Up?

Trust & Will stands out above other estate planning services largely due to its ease of use compared to other downloadable software, like, for instance, Quicken WillMaker & Trust. The program has just about everything you’d need, like access to an attorney, multiple types of documents, detailed learning resources and more.

In order to get these great benefits, though, you’ll need to pay up for Trust & Will. Among its competitors, its services are some of the most expensive, though the Will and Guardian plans are generally affordable.

Comparing Trust & Will to Other Services Service Pricing Features Accessibility Trust & Will – Guardianship: $399 ($499 for couples)
– Will: $39 ($69 for couples)
– Trust: $89 ($159 for couples) – Guardian membership
– Will membership
– Trust membership – Web-based program Rocket Lawyer – $39.99/month membership
– With no membership, services available for a separate cost
– Free seven-day trial for will making – Sessions with a lawyer
– Custom legal forms
– Online Q&A with lawyers
– Document defense
– Form an LLC, corporation or non-profit
– Registered agent service – Web-based program Quicken WillMaker & Trust – $99 for all services – Wills
– Name an executor
– Trusts
– Final arrangements for your resting place
– Specify how to handle debts
– Health care directive – Software Bottom Line

Trust & Will is an attractive estate planning option, as long as you’re willing to pay its higher prices. While these prices could be a deterrent for some, it’s a lot less expensive than working one-on-one with an attorney to create and fine-tune your estate planning documents. Beyond that, if you’re looking to create documents in a simple manner from your own computer, the service is a perfect fit for you. Simply put, Will & Trust is a great option for most when it comes to easy DIY estate planning.

Tips for Estate Planning

• Estate planning involves many complex topics, such as taxes, financial planning, legal issues and more. Finding the right financial advisor to help you doesn’t have to be hard, though. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with financial advisors in your area in just five minutes. Get started now.

• Online or downloadable estate planning software might not work for your particular situation. When it comes to hiring a lawyer to help with estate planning, make sure you’re prepared.

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