Trust And Will Review: Is It Worth It For Legal Documents

Making an estate plan can be an uncomfortable process. However, instead of avoiding the inevitable, deciding what happens to your possessions when you pass away can make life easier for your loved ones.

Do-it-yourself estate planning is less stressful when you use a hands-on service like Trust & Will. This platform offers competitive pricing for wills, trusts and estate plans that adapt to your personal needs and meet your state’s legal requirements.

Our Trust & Will review compares your options and how you can make your documents within minutes.

What is Trust & Will?

Trust & Will is a San Diego-based online platform created by attorneys that can help you draft important estate planning documents.

These documents include:

• HIPAA authorization
• Last will and testament
• Living will
• Power of attorney
• Revocable living trust
• Schedule of assets

It’s possible to complete the standardized forms in as little as 20 minutes and create legally-binding documents that can help your heirs settle your estate.

You can designate guardians for your dependents and pets, along with leaving basic instructions. 

The online will maker helps individuals and couples create personalized estate plans. 

How Does Trust & Will Work?

You can create your documents online, and it’s possible to receive a physical copy as well. They can also be legally binding once notarized, making it less likely to overlook estate planning topics.

Choose a Product

The first step is deciding if you want to create a will or trust as an individual or a couple. It’s possible to take a quiz if you’re not sure which plan to choose.

A trust plan costs more but provides additional documents and requires monetary funding. It can also help you avoid probate court, which is worth the extra cost.

Answer Questions

You will answer a series of questions to generate your requested documents specific to your state. It’s necessary to pay upfront before the document prep starts, and you receive a 30-day money-back guarantee if you decide this service isn’t a good fit.

The interview process is similar to using online tax software, and you can save your progress if you can’t finish in a single session.

Covered topics include:

• Name of your spouse and children
• Executor of your estate
• Which end-of-life expenses to pay for
• Charity donations
• Final arrangements 
• Excluding individuals from your will

You can request help from a virtual chatbot 24/7. Additionally, live chat support is available Monday through Saturday during standard business hours if you need hands-on guidance. 

It’s possible to consult with attorneys as you draft your documents for an additional fee. Thankfully, many customers can create self-proving wills that are administrable upon death with the standard DIY program.

The platform partners with TurboTax to import your household details, which can speed up the process and produce accurate results. It’s possible to manually input your details quickly as well.

Download or Ship Your Documents

After completing the interview questions, you can review a digital copy to find errors and omissions. Once everything meets your expectations, you can download a PDF copy, send the documents to a trusted contact or get a physical copy in the mail.

It’s your responsibility to store these documents in a secure place. Trust & Will also offers online document storage. It’s free for the first year and then costs $19 per year.

There isn’t an additional fee to request a paper copy of your documents upon completion.

Sign and Notarize

After receiving your documents, the final step is to sign them and find a notary. These signatures are necessary to make them legally binding. 

E-notarization is available in states that allow this practice, which can be another reason to consider this service. Currently, 34 states allow online notarizations.

In most cases, your will or trust must be notarized to be effective during probate. It’s possible to generate these documents without a signature or notary, but your wishes may not be carried out during legal proceedings.

Trust & Will creates self-proving wills that add more validity to your document even if it isn’t notarized. One notable exception is in Louisiana, which requires all wills to be notarized. 

Fund Your Trust 

If you set up a trust, it must be funded to make it active and legally binding. You can fund your living trust by linking your bank accounts or transferring the deeds of physical assets.

You can request a Certification of Trust and a schedule of assets to verify your estate holdings.

How Much Does Trust & Will Cost?

You can pay a flat fee to complete your trust or will. Optional services such as attorney access and digital document service are available as well. 

It’s possible to pay the lump sum upfront or through four equal payments.

Trust

A trust costs $599 for individuals and $699 for couples. You can make unlimited edits and enjoy digital document storage for free for the first year. Then, you pay $39 per year.

It includes these documents:

• Revocable living trust
• Schedule of assets
• Last will and testament (pour-over will)
• HIPAA authorization
• Living will
• Power of attorney
• Trust funding guide
• Certification of trust

The spouse documents are also tailor-made to be different from the primary estate forms.

You even receive free basic support Monday through Saturday by live chat or email. Personalized attorney support is available for $200 per year. 

An optional deed transfer service costs $499. This helps retitle your home and assets to be included in your trust.

Will

The will package is more affordable and sufficient for simple estates. A primary downside is that the documents may not become effective until after death and probate is required.

Individual plans cost $159. Adding spouse documents results in a total of $259. Unlimited edits and document storage are free for the first year. Then, the annual membership fee is $19.

You can receive these documents:

• Last will and testament
• HIPAA authorization
• Living will 
• Power of attorney

Attorney access costs $200 per 12-month period.

Is Trust & Will Worth It?

Consider Trust & Will if you have a simple estate plan and either can’t afford it or don’t want to spend big bucks hiring an attorney. Your documents become legally binding after notarization, and it’s possible to save thousands of dollars.

Households with children or pets can appoint guardians and leave basic instructions about various assets or last wishes. This service makes estate planning affordable and easy to complete or update so families can finally have a plan.

However, hiring an estate planning lawyer can be worth the investment if you have complex circumstances, want to leave detailed instructions or anticipate a contested probate process. 

Trust & Will Key Features

These tools can assist with making your plan and executing your will when the time arrives.

Learn Center

Estate planning isn’t a daily activity for most of us, so it’s essential to learn how wills and trusts work to avoid surprises. The Learn Center has many articles that can help you make estate planning decisions without consulting an attorney.

Most articles require less than 10 minutes to read, and they discuss these topics:

• End-of-life planning
• Guardianship
• Probate
• Retirement
• Trusts
• Wills

This is an excellent resource for initial research, but you will need to consult with an attorney for personalized advice.

Probate

If your estate must go through probate to disperse your assets, you can use this add-on service to navigate the process. 

Your desired support level determines the cost:

Plan	Cost	Features
Self-guided	$600	Fully completed probate forms, phone consultation, chat/email support
Concierge	$1,750	Dedicated probate expert, phone support, coordinating electronic signatures, public notice prepared, conference calls with your family
Attorney	$5,000	Attorney representation in court, e-filing of court documents, specific legal advice

*Note: Public notice and filing fees cost extra with each plan

You can start by scheduling a free 30-minute consultation to determine your best option.

Deed Transfer

Retitling your home and other assets to be part of your trust can be time-consuming. Trust & Will can perform most of the hard work for you for a flat $499 fee.

Properly completing this process will help your heirs avoid probate, which is a valuable benefit of having a trust. 

Attorney Services

An optional upgrade is attorney support for $200 per 12-month period. 

The benefits include:

• Line-by-line document review
• Phone support with an attorney from your state
• Legal advice for business and LLC owners to make a trust-owned entity
• Customized legal advice
• Explanation of state-specific laws
• Advice with navigating probate
• Insights for couples and blended families

This hands-on support is a good alternative to hiring an attorney, which can cost from $1,000 to $7,000.

Customer Reviews

Trust & Will has a high Trustpilot rating with over 2,500 reviews. It also has an A+ BBB rating (Better Business Bureau).

These are a few Trust & Will review excerpts from customers:

“I originally created my Trust in 2021 and was very pleased with the service and documents we received. Our Trust has continued to live and adapt with our family as life continues to change.” – Megan M.

“For me, the interview format was clear and easy to understand. However, the instructions to fund the trust are WAY too generic. There is WAY more paperwork involved than they reveal.” — Sandra E.

“Creating my will was so simple and fast! Something I have been putting off for years because I thought it would just be too complicated. Fast and easy. Have already recommended to several partners at work.” — Donna L. 

“Because it is a general template, there are certain stipulations that can’t be made with it, but one can always add a letter to accompany the trust on one’s ultimate intentions.” – Nashtnguy

Alternatives To Trust & Will

These services can also help you make an estate plan by yourself or with an attorney’s help.

LawDepot

You can use LawDepot to draft estate-related documents, such as a last will and testament, power of attorney or a living will. It’s possible to print or download your document for free during the first week. A monthly plan costs $35.

Unfortunately, this platform cannot help you build a trust. However, you may also consider this service if you anticipate making other legal documents.

LegalZoom

If you don’t think you’ll need 12 months of attorney support or unlimited edits, LegalZoom lets you draft a will for as little as $89 and have 30 days to make edits. You can also purchase attorney access packages at a lower cost than Trust & Will. 

If you only need to make a basic will and financial power of attorney, this service can be more affordable. Having access to attorneys also makes it an attractive option.

Rocket Lawyer

Consider Rocket Lawyer when you want the ability to create various legal documents. It can also be a good choice if you need help making a document but don’t need ongoing support.

You can enjoy a seven-day free trial and then pay $39.99 per month to produce documents or ask questions to attorneys. Premium members can also enjoy up to 40% off network attorneys and discounts on LLC formation services.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you are still on the fence about whether or not Trust & Will is the right option for you, here are some questions people ask before signing up for the service.

Summary

Trust & Will makes estate planning more affordable and less complicated as you can do most of the work from home. It can help most people create the documents they need to protect their families. 

However, hiring a local attorney can be the better option if you have a delicate situation or want full hands-on support as you make your estate plan.