Willful is an online platform for creating your estate plan, without a lawyer. You answer plain-language questions about your family, your wishes, and the people you trust, and Willful turns your answers into legal documents (your will and powers of attorney) that are lawyer-approved and tailored to your province. Here's what to expect from start to finish.
Overview of the Willful process
Willful walks you through your estate plan one stage at a time. Here's what each one looks like:
Creating your account
Go straight to sign-up, or click Get started on willful.co. Enter your email, answer a few quick questions about you and your family, and Willful recommends the plan that fits your situation.
How to create an account on Willful · Comparing Willful plans
Working through your plan
Your home page guides you through your estate plan step by step, and you can click any step to work on it. Along the way you'll:
Add the people and pets in your plan. Everyone you name is saved to your Key contacts so you can reuse them in other roles. How to manage contacts
Decide who inherits your estate. Name your beneficiaries and their backups, leave specific gifts or charitable donations, and set the age your beneficiaries must reach before inheriting directly. How to add or change beneficiaries
Choose the people who'll act for you. Appoint an executor to carry out your will, guardians for minor children and pets, and, on Premium plans, an Attorney for Property and an Attorney for Personal Care. Executors · Child guardians · Pet guardians · Attorney for Property · Attorney for Personal Care
Record your final wishes. Share your preferences for burial or cremation and your ceremony. Including burial and funeral wishes in your will
Not sure about an answer? Look for Help with this question near the top of the page for quick answers, and Ask Willa for guidance on your specific situation. Your progress saves automatically, so you can leave and come back anytime.
Reviewing your documents
Your home page and Your documents show a tile for each document in your plan:
Last Will and Testament (all plans)
Power of Attorney for Property (Premium plans)
Power of Attorney for Personal Care (Premium plans; called a Representation Agreement or Personal Directive in some provinces)
Estate Inventory, a supporting document listing your key accounts, policies, and belongings (Premium plans)
Click Review and edit on any tile to see every decision in that document, grouped into sections, and change anything with Edit. How to add or change information on your legal documents
Downloading, signing, and witnessing
Click Download on a tile to get the finished PDF. Your documents aren't legally valid until you print, sign, and witness them according to your province's rules; the instructions are included with every download. How to download and/or print your legal documents · Signing and witnessing your will
If you'd like extra help finishing, optional add-ons are available from Your documents: Digital execution to sign and witness online (available in BC), Expert review for a live call with a Willful estate planning expert, and Print & ship to have your documents printed and mailed to you.
Keeping your documents up to date
Life changes, and your documents should too. Log in anytime to update your plan, then download, print, sign, and witness the new version. Updates are free and unlimited within your plan. Knowing when to update your legal documents
Common questions
Is Willful free?
Creating your account is free. Once you've picked your plan, a one-time payment unlocks your documents and includes unlimited updates for life. See plans and pricing
Can I preview my will before paying?
You can view a sample will to see the kind of clauses Willful uses. Your own completed will is available once you've paid, which protects against incomplete documents being used.
Can I check out now and finish later?
Yes, you can. Paying early locks in any promotional pricing, and you can come back and finish your plan whenever you're ready.
Can I update my will later?
Updates are free and unlimited within your plan. Just remember to download, print, sign, and witness the new version for it to be legally valid. How to add or change information on your legal documents
Are Willful documents legally valid?
Yes, as long as they're properly signed and witnessed. Willful's clauses are developed with experienced estate lawyers and tailored to each province's laws. Legal validity of Willful documents
What if I move provinces?
Your will is generally valid across Canada. Estate laws differ by province, though, so it's a good idea to update your documents to your new province. Provinces where Willful is available
Can my partner and I make one will together?
Each person makes their own will; Willful doesn't support joint or mutual wills. Couples can save with the Premium Coverage x2 plan, which gives two people their own accounts and full document sets. Willful doesn't currently support complex arrangements like spousal trusts; for those, we recommend speaking with an estate lawyer. Comparing Willful plans · Making a will as a couple
Can I add my own wording or clauses?
You can change any of your answers at any time, but the legal wording itself is fixed. That's deliberate: Willful's clauses are developed with experienced estate lawyers, and locking them protects your documents from being invalidated by a stray sentence.
You do have some control over what's included. Willful adds a few clauses to your will by default, covering things like registered education savings plans, carrying on a business, and digital assets, and on Premium plans you can review each one and remove any that don't apply to you. How to customize your executor's powers
What if I'm not comfortable making a will online?
Willful is designed to make estate planning simple, but it isn't the right fit for everyone. If your situation is complex or you'd prefer to work with a lawyer, that's a good call. Finding out if Willful works for your situation