Firstly, there should be a distinction between online Wills and DIY Wills. Just because you offer an online Will, it doesn’t have to mean that it’s a DIY Will.

For clarification, a DIY Will is a Will created by a well-meaning testator where they purchase a ‘kit’ to support. There are obviously areas where mistakes can be made for example with witnessing. 

An online Will offers just what it says on the tin - a Will created online, using an online questionnaire which then creates the client’s documents. 

Online Wills have been scrutinised in trade press recently for lacking a comprehensive solution for clients who may believe that they have a simple estate when in fact, that may not be the case.

We believe that this scrutiny is somewhat misplaced. Using a solution like Love Legal for example you have the ability to tailor the client journey and identify where a client’s circumstances are more complex than an online Will can cater for.

It’s fair to say that online Wills will NOT offer provision for complex planning like trusts but they do provide a perfectly suitable solution for clients who want to make outright gifts of property, specific gifts or gifts of money.

What Love Legal enables you to do is to ask questions which identify where you will be able to support clients with face to face planning. If the client’s circumstances are simple then they can create a Will which can be sent to them as a PDF with all the necessary instructions for signing.

WillSuite forms part of the Love Legal Group and in a recent meeting with a financial advisor who was using Love Legal to support clients they described the online Will solution as ‘refreshing’ and added that it’s a novel experience to be paid by clients for them to provide leads. In essence he was referring to the fact that he added questions into the system (because it’s customisable) about his financial services practice and as the client went through the process, they answered these questions indicating where they would be open to learning more about this other solutions.

Additionally, during a WillSuite training session run by a contentious probate solicitor where she was educating practitioners about how to avoid contentious matters she indicated that having a Will in place was often better than having no Will at all.

In conclusion, and even though we’re biased because we have a great solution, we think you should be offering an online Will solution to clients.

For more information or for a demo of our solution, click here.