How it Works

Yes. TruWill Legal, PLLC is a law firm owned by its attorneys, and it provides the legal services — including reviewing your documents before they are delivered to you.

TruWill, Inc. is a separate technology and services company. It runs this website and the app, and prints and ships your binder. When you call, you talk with a representative of TruWill Legal, PLLC. The firm engages TruWill, Inc. and pays it for those services; it never shares legal fees, and TruWill, Inc. does not direct the firm's professional judgment.

Yes. A licensed attorney of TruWill Legal, PLLC reviews your plan before it is delivered to you.

Your relationship with the firm begins when the firm accepts your engagement under a written engagement agreement, which sets out what the firm will do for you. Using this website or requesting a call does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship.

An estate plan is a group of legal documents that details, in advance, the management and distribution of your assets and the care of your minor children if you pass away or become incapacitated. An estate plan typically includes a trust, a will, and powers of attorney (general and medical).

A trust is a legal entity that holds assets both while you are alive and after you pass away. A trust appoints a trustee to carry out its terms, including distribution standards and conditions. Assets held in a properly funded trust are generally not subject to probate, and the trust's distribution instructions can stay private.

Think of a trust as a detailed plan. If you were around, you would make the decisions about how your children are raised and what happens with your money and things. If you are not, the trust is that plan: who will take care of your minor children, how your money and assets will be managed and distributed, and who is responsible for making sure your wishes are followed. A properly funded trust can also help keep the administration of your assets out of court — which can lower costs and reduce stress for your family.

A will is a legal document that takes effect only upon your death. It provides instructions for distributing your assets to your designated heirs, but it does not manage your assets if you become incapacitated while living, and it does not avoid probate for assets like real estate.

Whether you need a trust, a will, or both depends on your situation. Typically, if you own real estate, have assets over $10,000, or have children, a trust is recommended: assets held in a properly funded trust can be managed for your children, can help your family avoid probate, and can give your heirs added protection. If the beneficiary of a life insurance policy is a minor, a trust can help make sure the money is managed properly until they come of age.

The cost of an estate plan varies greatly depending on how and where you get it done. TruWill Legal, PLLC charges flat fees, never hourly. Every price is in writing — your engagement letter lists them all — before you sign anything, and attorney review is included. Start with a free call to talk through what your family needs.

Without an estate plan, your family has to work out difficult questions on their own — who raises your kids, and what happens to everything you own — and a probate court makes the final decisions. That process costs money and takes time.

Each state has laws — called intestate laws — that dictate how your estate is administered when there is no plan. They typically require court involvement before anyone even has authority to act, and a statute or a judge determines exactly what happens with your assets and who takes care of any minor children.

The expensive, time-consuming way: meet with a lawyer, wait for drafts, and go back to the office to sign. With TruWill, you create an account and securely provide your information online (or over the phone with our help); your documents are prepared from templates our attorneys designed; a licensed attorney of TruWill Legal, PLLC reviews them; and your finished plan ships to you with instructions to sign, get notarized, and finalize.

A trustee is a trusted person who acts as custodian of the assets held in a trust, responsible for managing and administering them per the trust's instructions. You are the trustee while you are living; after you are gone, someone you appoint takes over.

A beneficiary is the person or entity you designate to receive assets after your death. Typically assets pass to a surviving spouse, then to children — but you are free to direct your assets however you choose, including the age at which a beneficiary becomes eligible and how much they receive.