What I Learned From Writing My Will Online

We turned to an online will platform for an affordable and accessible option. In what felt like no time, our wills were drafted, signed, and witnessed, and I was relieved to have checked it off the list. Now that a few months have passed and I’ve had time to reflect on the experience, here are my boots-on-the-ground findings (spoiler alert: I’m only partially satisfied).

My husband and I are in our early thirties. We live together in a rented apartment in Toronto, have no kids, and maintain salaried jobs, which equates to a relatively simple financial picture. Knowing I wanted to tackle wills this year, I first appealed to our friends and family for will preparation opinions. Soon after, as a cookie-accepting internet user, I was bombarded with targeted ads for online will writing services like Willful, Epilogue, and LegalWills. These options seemed easy, we could do it from home, and I figured we could save some money until our circumstances warranted human expertise.

You Get What You Pay For

At Nexus, I’ve been part of many client conversations where the advice on getting wills updated is always something to the effect of: “you get what you pay for”. If you want to ensure your assets are handled correctly after you’re gone, having an expert sit across the table from you and accurately capture your goals is essential, and that comes at a cost. But do my personal and financial circumstances require in-person expertise? I wasn’t so sure. I figured I have a leg up by working alongside some bright financial minds, plus I don’t have kids or a mortgage, so I must be the exception to the rule. I disregarded the wisdom of my colleagues and figured the online approach would be good enough.

While my personal accounts are invested alongside our clients in the Nexus pooled funds, my husband maintains outside accounts at a popular online investment service because of his group RSP. As a client of this Robo-advisor, he has access to partnership perks, one of which is a discount to an online will writing service. The regular price for the “Premium Plan” for 2 adults would be about $400 before tax, but with his discount, we paid $315 total. Considering traditional wills cost at least $1,000, the cost savings were a huge incentive for us, so we proceeded.

The Pros and Cons of Online Wills

The user experience was awesome. It was easy to navigate, mobile-friendly, guided us seamlessly through basic questions and prompted clarifications on some “what-ifs” and special scenarios. In one evening, we had drafted our wills sitting side-by-side on the sofa. A few days later we printed them at Staples, had some friends witness our signatures, et voila: legally valid wills. Box checked.

However, weeks later it occurred to me there was a reasonably common scenario I hadn’t considered that would leave my alternate beneficiary in the lurch. If I died first, my husband would get all my assets, which was my intention. However, if he died more than a month after me, my alternate beneficiary would no longer inherit. Instead, only his alternate beneficiary would receive our combined assets which was not my goal. I realized this is what they mean by “you get what you pay for”. If I had sat in front of an expert, there’s a good chance they would have asked me exactly this question, and there wouldn’t be this loophole baked into my freshly signed will. The price you pay for in-person wills isn’t just for a few sheets of paper and some legal jargon – it’s human experience. The real value is in working with a person, or a team, who has seen it all by supporting a variety of clients. It also highlighted for me the difference between having a human advisor versus a Robo advisor. The Robo advisor was sleek, user-friendly, and had logical prompts throughout. But either it missed a prompt, or I missed the prompt, and regardless, there wasn’t a person on the other end to double-check my intentions before everything was done and dusted.

Now to be clear, we’re talking about low probabilities here with my scenario. If you asked an actuary what the chances are of this hypothetical common disaster, I feel pretty confident that the odds are on my side today. But will I still feel that way in 5-10 years? Will my situation change and suddenly make this omission a threat to my plans? Will I ultimately pay more down the road to correct my mistake, and negate the oh-so-appealing $315 price tag? Who can say? But it’s a cautionary tale for anyone else considering the “easy” way.

Had our circumstances been more complex, I don’t think I would have entertained any ideas about an online will. Common situations that I think warrant an estate lawyer’s expertise would be common-law spouses, ex-spouses, real estate, mortgages, and private corporations or trusts (as a trustee or a beneficiary). But perhaps most importantly, if you and/or your spouse have children. You don’t want to skip steps when it comes to ensuring your children are thoughtfully taken care of in the way that you intend. Nexus has a long history of writing on this topic, and I encourage you to read “Estate Planning: Questions from our Virtual Chat”. If you are looking for referrals on trusted estate lawyers, your Nexus advisors can help.

Something Is Better Than Nothing

All in all, I’m glad that we have something in place because something is better than nothing. If anything were to happen to either of us, I feel better knowing that we have a legal framework on how to handle our individual bank accounts or our end-of-life wishes, in addition to just naming each other as beneficiaries on our registered accounts.

According to a study from 2023 by the National Institute on Aging, only 48% of Canadians have a will and only 34% of Canadians aged 35-54 have a will. If this sounds like you, know you’re not alone–but don’t rest easy. Not having a will presents a huge risk. It leaves your estate in the hands of the government, often freezing assets, dragging out the process, increasing estate expenses, and distributing your assets according to a basic set of guidelines that likely ignores your unique family dynamics. This jeopardizes the hard work you’ve already put into building your assets.

A will is something many people, particularly those in my age group, put on the back burner as a responsibility that can be taken care of down the road. But only the prescient know what will actually happen, and for the rest of us, it’s better to be prepared. It’s the seatbelt metaphor: you don’t wear it because you hope to get in a car accident, you wear it just in case. The small act of seatbelt preparedness can make a life changing difference in the unlikely event of the worst-case scenario. This can apply to many aspects of risk management but feels particularly relevant to your financial preparedness.

Next on my well-being checklist? Live a long life – and buckle up!