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U.S. Legal Wills Review
Thursday, May 9th
2024 Will Service Reviews
U.S. Legal Wills
- Pricing starts at $39.95
- Optional lawyer review for $69
- Unique Keyholder service lets you grant access to particular documents for specific people you name (up to 20)
- Unlimited updates in the first year
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- No automatic subscriptions
- "A+" rated and accredited by the BBB
- In business since 2000
US Legal Wills is a service offered by Parting Wishes. The company has been around for more than 20 years, and their platform offers a wide range of features you won't find with other will creation services in our review.
30-day money-back guarantee
Consider trying US Legal Wills risk-free. Click the "Get Started" button to start creating your will, and you'll be walked through all of the questions needed to get your document in place. Not sure what it's asking or why? Look for the blue question mark icon to get further information. If you want to save your progress, though, you'll be asked to create an account (and pay for the plan that corresponds to the document/service package you want). The good news is that US Legal Wills also gives you a 30-day money-back satisfaction guarantee, with no monthly fees or automatic subscriptions when you sign up.
Save money with packages
You can always put together your own package of documents and services with US Legal Wills, paying a la carte for whatever you need. The list of available options includes just a Last Will and Testament ($39.95) - which can also be an Expatriate Will if you live outside of the US or have assets in the UK or Canada, a Living Will ($19.95), Power of Attorney ($29.95), and Life Locker for storing personal information ($29.95). However, you can save money by purchasing one of US Legal Wills' packages:
- Advanced: along with creating your Last Will and Testament, this bundle includes the ability to document your funeral wishes and organ donation preferences, write final messages, and assign Keyholders. This package is priced at $69.95.
- Complete Estate Plan: for $99.95, you get everything in the Advanced package plus Power of Attorney for Finances and Living Will.
- Premium Estate Plan: US Legal Wills' top-tier package adds on to the Complete Estate Plan with access to both the Life Locker (for storing personal information) and Digital Vault (for storing important documents and files), both of which can be passed on to your executor and/or family at the time of your death. This bundle costs $129.95.
Lawyer review available but probably not necessary
Finally, you can add on a lawyer review of your will for $69. US Legal Wills asserts that most people don't need it and won't get any significant benefit from it, but they offer it to give clients that extra peace of mind if needed.
Unique Keyholder feature
Our favorite aspect of using US Legal Wills is the Keyholder feature. As part of creating your will, you designate up to 20 different individuals as your "Keyholders" . These people will have permission to access any features you specify, but only after you become mentally incapacitated or pass away. Each Keyholder only gets access to what you designate, and that can be different for every one of them: maybe you want your kids to be able to access just your funeral wishes and final messages, but you want your executor to have authorization for every US Legal Wills feature (your will, uploaded documents, health care directives, and so on).
No recurring fees
We love that US Legal Wills doesn't make you pay any ongoing subscription fees to use the service. The one exception is your document storage. You automatically have access to every feature for the first year, and you can make any updates to your will that you like during that time. After that year, you have the option of storing everything for $11.95 for one year, $29.95 for five years, $39.95 for ten years, or $79.95 for 25 years. The good news is that your account will not be deleted if you don't pay the storage fee: if you change your mind later and want to get back into your account, you'll just have to pay $11.95 to reactivate it for a year. US Legal Wills doesn't charge you for the years your account was inactive.
No trusts, no access for residents of Louisiana
There are only two drawbacks with this will creation service. The first is the lack of options for creating trusts. If you already know you want a trust instead of a will, you'd need to look at another provider in our review because US Legal Wills focuses solely on Last Will and Testament creation plus other related documents. Second, this service can't be used to generate legal documents in the state of Louisiana, the only one of the 50 that isn't included here.
Glowing feedback from customers
US Legal Wills has lots of recent, positive feedback from clients: an average of 4.9/5 stars across more than 300 reviews in the last year alone. They describe the process as being easy to understand, with plenty of instructions at every step. Some clients who had tried rival will services said that US Legal Wills gave them much more for their money. And, under the name of its sister site (Parting Wishes), US Legal Wills enjoys an "A+" rating and accreditation from the Better Business Bureau as well.
Peace of mind for you and your loved ones
US Legal Wills makes the process of creating a will much less stressful for you, and it makes everything after your passing much easier for those you leave behind. They'll never have to wonder where to find your will, who you've designated to be in charge of the various aspects of your final arrangements and distribution of your estate, or what your preferences are for advance directives. This service is straightforward, affordable, and reliable - all without sneaky recurring subscription fees. We're pleased to give US Legal Wills our highest recommendation.
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Which Will Service is the Best?
Creating a will can be an emotional process. Most of us don't like to think about leaving our loved ones behind. Who will take care of our pets? Who will be the guardians of our children? Who should receive the family heirlooms? However, having a will can be one of the best - and easiest - ways to make our wishes known, and to spare them from having to make heart-wrenching decisions in the midst of their grief.
Wills are just one document that is often included in estate planning. You may also have heard of Living Trusts, Power of Attorney, Living Wills (also known as Advance Directives), and more. What's the difference among all of them, and which ones do you need?
Will Service FAQ
Continued from above...
Most experts agree that your first priority is to decide between a Will and a Trust. Both will allow you to specify how you want your assets distributed upon your death, but they accomplish this in different ways. The biggest difference is that wills require your estate's distribution to be overseen by a court, known as probate; trusts, on the other hand, skip the probate process altogether and are handled privately. But, trusts can be more complicated to create and establish - transferring real estate and investment accounts into the ownership of the trust - and so it's perfectly acceptable to create a will first, then decide if you need to take the extra steps required for a trust.
Either way, it's a good idea to have a Power of Attorney and Advance Directive as part of your documents too. A Power of Attorney gives a person you specify the authority to act in your behalf: if you're incapacitated and you need someone to pay a bill, get information from a doctor, or make arrangements for your care, someone with Power of Attorney can do those things.
Advance Directives (often consisting of a Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare) give you the ability to state what interventions you want (or don't) if you become unable to communicate. In other words, your will or trust details your wishes after you die, and a Power of Attorney and Advance Directive gives you say-so over what you prefer while you're alive.
Fortunately, creating a will doesn't have to be time-consuming, especially if you've already given some thought to your preferences. There are a number of services online that can help you draft your will within a matter of minutes and have it ready for printing, witnessing, and notarization. Which one is right for you? Here are some factors to consider:
- One-time fee or subscription-based. Some will creation services charge a one-time fee to make the document, while others (typically those that provide legal documents for a variety of other purposes) have a month-to-month subscription. Those membership-based plans often have a one-week free trial; as long as you cancel before the time period ends, you could very likely create your will for no cost.
- Document storage. How will your documents be maintained? Can you access them as long as you want and make changes, or is there an expiration date? Will you have to pay ongoing digital storage fees?
- Access for loved ones. Will your family members, executor, or other relevant individuals be able to access your will online after you die? Does the will creation service offer any means of storing your signed copies, or is that on you?
- Reputation. What do clients say about their experience with the will creation service? Is it easy to use? Were there any issues canceling the free trial? What does the Better Business Bureau say about the company?
To help you with your estate planning, TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked the most popular will creation services available today. We're sure that this information will make it easy, affordable, and relatively hassle-free to get this important task checked off your to-do list.
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