I spent years dragging my feet on getting a will, but Trust & Will helped me do it online for $119

Eric Rosenberg

Feb 3, 2020, 20:27 IST

I spent years dragging my feet on getting a will, but Trust & Will helped me do it online for $119

Jill Tindall/Getty Images

With two kids and a third on the way, I knew it was finally time to get a will put into place to protect my family.
A will tells the legal system and my family what my wife and I would want to happen with my money and kids if we were not around to take care of them.
If you have kids or significant assets, a will or trust is an important personal finance and estate planning tool that you shouldn't ignore.
I chose Trust & Will to make will online for a reasonable price, so I could be sure my family is protected should anything happen to me or my wife.
Learn more about Trust & Will »

I'm on the older side of what is considered a millennial, but my birthday falls squarely within the generation of people known for wanting online self-service, convenience, and an ability to take care of anything I need without picking up a phone. That combination of preferences meant I put off getting a will after having my first child, and my second.

But with baby No. 3 on the way, I knew it was finally time to make sure my kids and money would be taken care of in a worst-case scenario where I am not here to do it. After a lot of research and procrastination, I finally picked Trust & Will as the legal service to put my documents together. Here's a look at why I picked Trust & Will, what it cost, and what it was like putting my estate planning documents together.

What is a will or a trust?

A trust or a will is a document that explains what should happen with your assets and children under your care if you were to pass away. While nobody expects to die in a car accident, freak illness, or work accident, these things can happen. That is why insurance and estate planning exist.

A will is a common way to put your wishes in writing. This legally binding document requires an executor, someone in charge of making sure your wishes are followed. If you pass away, the will goes through a process known as probate where a judge approves that everything went according to plan.

For those with larger assets or more complicated estates, a trust is an alternative document for estate planning that doesn't have to go through the public probate process. However, a trust can cost more to prepare. The better choice for your family and your unique needs is up to you. Consult with a trusted relative, friend, or attorney if you are in doubt of what to do.

Trust & Will starts at $69 for wills

One of the biggest reasons I dragged my feet in preparing a will was the cost and uncertainty of who should put it together. Hiring a lawyer for a simple will might cost anywhere from $300 to $1,000. That's a big range. A trust might cost up to a few thousand dollars, so this is more than a drop in the bucket.

As someone in the unique position of reviewing financial products as part of my job, I have seen a handful of websites to help you put a will or trust together, but I was always nervous about state-specific rules. When I found the site Trust & Will, I was finally put at ease that my needs could be met with an online service.

Trust & Will does wills starting at $69 and trusts starting at $399 (it also does guardian designations only, starting at $39). I paid $119 for a package that included a last will and testament, living will, HIPPA authorization, and power of attorney for me and my wife. That's a bargain compared to a human attorney and covered the documents we cared about most.

Your will isn't only about your assets

A will is a catch-all estate planning document for most of your needs, but it needs to have certain provisions and a few things are not covered. In most cases, your family won't sit around and watch a video you recorded in your lawyer's office like in the movies. They will get a document or letter from your lawyer or executor explaining everything.

Here are some of the most important things to consider when preparing a will or trust:

Survivorship: If you pass away and your spouse doesn't, what happens?
Your money: If you and your spouse pass away at the same time, or you are the last one, who gets your money?
Your stuff: Properties, artworks, and your Beanie Baby collection from the 90s all need a new home if you are no longer around. You get to pick who has first dibs on everything.
Your kids: One of the most important sections, you should choose future guardianship for your children if you are no longer around. Pick a backup as well, just in case.
Your pets: If you have a dog, cat, or other pets, it's important to choose who will inherit them. Also, consider a modest fund so your pet's expenses are not a burden.
Executor: You get to choose the person in charge of making sure your wishes are followed. We picked a trusted family member who lives nearby.
Funeral arrangements: Do you want a traditional burial? A cremation? Any religious preferences? Make your wishes known here.

Everyone's family, pets, finances, and assets look different. There is no standard will, but there are standard things to cover. Trust & Will used a California-specific template for our documents, as we live in California. I was able to enter customized information for all of these concerns in the online will-creation process.

Don't forget a living will and power of attorney

If you end up in a coma, brain dead, or with a major injury or illness where you are no longer able to speak or make decisions for yourself, it is too late to tell someone if you would rather stay on life support or get unplugged. An estate plan should consider additional documents for this unlikely, but still possible, scenario.

When creating our will, we also created these important documents:

Living will: A living will explains your medical wishes if you are alive but unable to speak for yourself. This talks about things like life support, medical treatments, and organ donation. It could also include a DNR, an order that you should not be resuscitated if your heart or lungs stop if that is your wish.
HIPPA authorization: HIPPA authorization gives doctors and other healthcare providers the freedom to speak with your spouse or other designated people if you are incapacitated.
Power of attorney: A power of attorney gives someone else the legal right to make financial, legal, and medical decisions on your behalf.

Make decisions now in case you can't later

Most people don't like to think about their eventual death, but it will happen to all of us someday. If you have children, a will or trust is an absolute necessity. If you don't pick who gets guardianship of your children, they could end up with a relative you wouldn't have picked, or worse. If you have significant assets, a will or trust is still a good idea even without kids, as it explains who gets what if you pass away.

There are many stories of people who didn't create a will and things ended up very messy. Don't make the same mistake. Whether you do it online or hire an estate attorney, get a will or trust in place to protect the future of your estate. It is a financial decision you won't regret.

Learn more about protecting your family with Trust & Will »

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Personal Finance Insider team. We occasionally highlight financial products and services that can help you make smarter decisions with your money. We do not give investment advice or encourage you to adopt a certain investment strategy. What you decide to do with your money is up to you. If you take action based on one of our recommendations, we get a small share of the revenue from our commerce partners. This does not influence whether we feature a financial product or service. We operate independently from our advertising sales team.

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