Trust & Will Review

Preparing documents for your final wishes isn’t on anyone’s top 10 list of things to do. It’s probably not even on the top 100! We get that.

But Trust & Will is an online service that will make the task a little less unpleasant – and a lot less expensive. You’ll get the capability to prepare a will, a trust, or a simple guardianship appointment in just a few minutes, and at a very low fee.

All documents prepared are designed specifically within the laws of your state. All you need to do is enter your personal information, and the documents will be created and reviewed for you.

About Trust & Will

Based in San Diego, California, and launched in 2017, Trust & Will is an online service providing legal forms and information. All documents have been designed and vetted by attorneys experienced in estate planning.

This is an extremely important service, since millions of people have made no legal provisions for what will happen to their dependents or their assets upon their deaths. Trust & Will provides a low-cost, online, secure way to prepare your own documents, and usually in a matter of minutes.

All you need to do is enter your personal information on the platform, and it will be included in legal documents specific to your state. You don’t need to be an attorney, nor do you need to consult with one. And for certain documents, Trust & Will’s team of experts will review them before they’re finalized. It’s a perfect solution for those who lack the time or the money to pay an attorney for similar services.

And given that your personal circumstances and finances will change over the years, Trust & Will enables you to make unlimited changes to your documents.

Trust & Will has a Better Business Bureau rating of “A+”, the highest rating on the scale of A+ to F. It has been BBB accredited since November, 2018.

How Trust & Will works

Trust & Will offers three main products, Guardian, Will and Trust. Each performs a specific purpose, and you may choose to have one, two or all three documents, depending on your personal situation and preferences.

• Guardian is the simplest of the three. It’s for parents with minor children, and it’s used to nominate guardians for your children. It’s specifically designed for anyone with dependents who isn’t yet prepared to complete a formal will or trust.
• Will is a common document in which you make provisions for the care of your children and the distribution of your assets. You can nominate guardians for your children and pets, determine final arrangements, leave specific gifts, note special requests, and even specify healthcare wishes in a will.
• Trust is a more comprehensive legal document, that includes everything that might be in a will, but with the extra protection that it enables your estate and beneficiaries to avoid probate court. It also gives the ability to either transfer assets into a specific trust, or directly to your named beneficiaries.

Trust & Will features and benefits

Document review

Wills and trust documents (but not guardianship arrangements) will be reviewed by Trust & Will’s estate planning experts.

Attorney Support

For an extra $200 each year, you can get unlimited support from an attorney. They can help give you advice on your estate planning documents, as well as help you understand your own local estate laws.

This service is available only in the following states:

• California.
• Texas.
• New York.
• Pennsylvania.
• Ohio.
• Michigan.

Share Access

Trust & Will’s Share Access feature allows users to share their documents with their loved ones, their financial advisors, and other professionals easily. That way any executor, trustee, or family members can virtually access your estate plan.

This means there’s no need to keep filing cabinets full of documents since all of the folks who will need a copy will have it readily available online.

The Trust & Will 1% pledge

The people at Trust & Will believe everyone should have access to affordable estate planning documents. As such, they’ve taken the “1% Pledge”, to give back 1% of revenues to organizations that support equal access to affordable estate planning documents.

After all, even people without significant assets need to make provisions for the care of their children, final expenses, health-related provisions, and the distribution of personal belongings. When you sign up with Trust & Will, you’ll be making a small contribution to extend that access to those who cannot afford it.

Customer support

Customer support is available by email and live chat, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Pacific time.

Account security

Trust & Will uses bank level security to protect and encrypt all information transferred and stored. They also pledge they will never sell or share your information without your consent.

Creating Trust & Will documents

You can create all three documents sets online in a matter of minutes, and any can be updated an unlimited number of times within the first year (annual renewable plans are available for future updates).

For each document package, you’ll receive state specific legal documents that are consistent with the laws in your state. All documents have been built by an experienced legal team.

You can instantly review your documents before finalizing them, and then sign them. Trust and will documents will be reviewed by Trust & Will experts.

Once created, a copy of each document will be delivered to you. However, the documents will remain stored online, to allow for additional access or updating.

Trust & Will products

Trust & Will offers three product plans:

Trusts

Trusts provide you with the ability to create a customized, state specific and legally valid trust in about 15 minutes, with unlimited updates.

You answer basic questions concerning you, your family, and your distribution and care preferences, then your documents will be delivered to you. Once created, the documents can be updated at any time.

The plan gives you the ability to create the following five documents:

Revocable living trust

This is the central document of your estate plan. It’s where you make provisions for the management, control, and distribution of your assets while you are alive and upon your death.

Schedule of assets

This document provides a list of assets that will be held in the trust. It can be quickly and easily updated as you add and remove assets from the trust.

Pour Over Will

This document will establish your final wishes for both your dependents and your final arrangements. It will also make specific references to important details included in your trust document.

HIPPAA Authorization

HIPAA is a federal law that applies to the healthcare industry. It restricts the distribution of personal health information to unauthorized parties. The HIPAA Authorization will give trusted individuals the right to receive your protected health information for very specific purposes.

Living Will

In an era of rapidly advancing medical technology, this document is becoming increasingly important. It enables you to specify your preferences for medical treatment in the event you are personally unable to make those decisions for yourself. It authorized third parties, including healthcare providers, to make care decisions.

Once created, your trust documents will be reviewed by experts at Trust & Will.

Wills

You can create a last will and testament online in about 10 minutes. With this document, you can specify your final wishes for your dependents, possessions, assets, and final arrangements. This package also includes a HIPAA Authorization and a Living Will, as described above.

Once created, your will will be reviewed by experts at Trust & Will.

Guardians

This is the simplest of the three document packages offered by Trust & Will, but maybe the most important for most people. It provides a way for parents to provide for the guardianship of their minor children, without having to create a will or trust. You’re simply legally appointing a guardian for your children.

Since it’s the simplest document, it can be completed in just a few minutes, and updated at any time thereafter. Trust & Will provides a customized Guardian document, which is a state specific legal document in your state of residency.

The Guardians document will nominate the person or persons who will be a guardian to look after your children upon your death.

Trust & Will fees and pricing

Trust & Will has a separate fee structures for each of the three products it offers:

1. Trusts: $599, plus an additional $100 to include a trust for your spouse. The fee includes unlimited updates for one year. You can add ongoing unlimited updates for $39 per year.
2. Guardian: $39, plus an additional $30 for your spouse. The fee includes unlimited updates for one year. You can add ongoing unlimited updates for just $12 per year.
3. Will: $159, plus an additional $100 to add documents for your spouse. It includes unlimited updates for one year, but you can purchase ongoing unlimited updates for $19 per year.

Moneyback guarantee

If for any reason you’re dissatisfied with the completed documents, you can receive a full refund if you contact the company within 30 days of your purchase. They promise there are no strings attached.

Who is Trust & Will best for?

There are three consumers for whom Trust & Will will be best suited, and one for whom it’s not recommended.

Haven Life customers or customers-to-be

Haven Life offers robust term life insurance policies at attractive rates and for long terms (10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 years). Their application process is streamlined and they offer policies nationwide, you just have to be at least 20 years old to get a policy.

Here’s the kicker: if you sign up for a life insurance policy with Haven Life, you’ll get a promo code for a free will with Trust and Will.

Those with relatively simple estates

Since it can cost hundreds of dollars to draw up a will – or thousands of dollars for a trust – with an attorney, you may want to bypass those high costs if your estate is small and relatively simple.

This will include the average person, who owns a home, personal possessions, and conventional assets, like retirement and brokerage investments.

Those looking only for a guardianship for their children

If you have little in the way of personal possessions or financial assets, but you do have children, Trust & Will provides a low-cost way to provide for the guardianship of your children upon your death.

People early in life

If your budget isn’t large enough to cover attorney fees – but you still need either a formal will or a trust – Trust & Will is a way to do it that will fit within your financial capabilities. Later, as your asset base grows, you can go the attorney route.

Who Trust & Will is NOT suitable for

Trust & Will is not a recommended option if you have a complicated family or financial situation. For example, if you have children from multiple spouses, you’ll likely need more detailed documents.

The same is true if you have an investment property or you own a business. Since each situation includes nuances with very specific legal consequences, you’ll be better served by using an attorney.

Summary

Trust & Will is an online service that offers legal forms and information to help you create trusts, wills, and guardian documents. Their cost is significantly less than hiring an attorney, and you’ll still get access to a great legal team!

If you’d like more information, or if you’d like to get started, visit Trust & Will.

Read more:

• On the Road from $0 to a Million, This Simple Pyramid is Your Map; What Level Are You On?
• How To Create A Financial Plan Without Paying For An Advisor