Trying to sort out a will for your property and possessions can be a lengthy process if you choose to go through an attorney. While it may be tempting to keep putting off sorting out your will, it is always a good idea to have a last will and testament in place to keep your loved ones protected. Having a will in place can also lessen the stress for your loved ones, as you will have made your last wishes clear.
But when visiting an attorney to sort out your last will and testament could cost you anywhere between $500 to $5,000 depending on your particular circumstances, an online will can seem like a very attractive alternative. These are much cheaper to arrange, and you won't have to fork out extra money to get it proofed by an attorney.
Are Online Wills Legal, And Are Online Wills Legally Binding?
The good news is that yes, online wills are indeed legal. Providing that your will meets the stipulations of your particular state, an online will is perfectly legal. They will need to comply with your state's laws to ensure that they are able to stand up in court should someone contest the will. The great news is that when you use an online service such as Wills.com to create your will online, it couldn't be easier to ensure that it complies with the laws in your state.
You won't have to worry about that with an online will from a reputable service, as these companies will have hired legal experts and licensed attorneys to carefully word their documents so that they will be able to hold up.
How Do Online Wills Work?
So now that we know online wills are legal, how do online wills work?
- Much like an in-person will, an online will outlines who your property gets left to in the event of your death, who will be the guardian of your minor children, as well as who will be the executor of your last will and testament. You can do all of this without having to spend over a small fortune to consult with an in-person attorney, and without having to ask yourself are online wills legal.
- The great thing about online wills is that you will be given a template to work with for your particular needs. You will be asked what assets you have, such as physical property, bank accounts, digital property, investment accounts, pets, or anything else that you need to consider.
- The only thing that you will need to bear in mind is that your will needs to meet the estate laws of your particular state. Reputable websites such as Wills.com will be able to take the guesswork out of this process by asking you what your state is before you get started.
How Online Wills Are Legal
Online wills are legal providing that they meet the requirements of your particular state. Some states will require a will to only be signed by the testator, and not by any witnesses. Other states require several witnesses, and some will even require you to have these witnesses be people who have nothing to gain from your will in the event of your passing.
Another factor to consider is that you will need to declare that you are of sound mind at the time that you are creating your last will and testament.
Setting out a will using an attorney can of course take some of this guesswork out of the process for you. However, they can also cost a small fortune depending on how much work they need to do to complete your will. By using an online will instead of an attorney, you can help to cut down on this cost. A reputable service will ask you what state you live in to cut out this guesswork and give you the right documents to build your online will.
Advantages of an Online Will
So now that we have covered online wills legal, let's take a look at what some of the advantages are.
- Affordable Whereas visiting an attorney in person to set out your last will and testament can become a very expensive process, an online will is much more affordable. If you were to visit an attorney in person, the whole process could cost you anything between $500 right up to $5,000. However, if you were to use a service such as Wills.com, it would only cost you around $75. Another factor to bear in mind is that if you had to make any changes to your will in person, you would then have to spend more money to get this done. The great thing about an online will service such as Wills.com is that you can change anything in your will for free, for as many times as you need to. This makes them immensely more affordable than an in-person will.
- Easy to Use Another factor to consider is that an online will is fairly easy to use. All you will need to do is input which state you live in so that you can have the right documentation given to you, then fill out the fields as requested. The vast majority of services will give you a template that you can fill out to meet your needs. So you won't have to worry about any complicated legal language, as the online service will sort this out for you.
- Quick to Complete
Online wills are also much quicker to complete than in-person wills. In fact, services such as Wills.com can be completed in as little as 15 minutes.
The Best Choice to Create Your Legal Will Online with Wills.com
You may also be interested in learning in how you can Notarize your will after creating your will by reading our guide on Remote Online Notarization here.
Are online wills legal? Yes! Sourcing legally binding documents online can be much more convenient than using an attorney to create your last will and testament.
Providing that your will meets the specific estate law requirements of your particular state, an online will is an ideal solution for you to use. It will be worth using a reputable online will service such as Wills.com to ensure that your will meets the requirements needed in your state.