EncorEstate Plans vs FreeWill

EncorEstate Plans combines estate document creation and trust-funding tools with human estate-planner support for financial advisors. It is intended for certified financial advisors with a CRD, not for consumer use, and is available on the web. Documents are tailored for all 50 states, with options including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives, and custom provisions such as specific gifts, trustee language, or age-based restrictions. Advisors can contact estate planners and paralegals by phone, live chat, or email at no cost, and may request attorney review. The deed service obtains the last recorded deed, prepares new documents where appropriate, and files with the county; deed filing excludes Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. The maker says each plan receives a 60-point quality review and every document is reviewed by a person for state-specific compliance. Listed one-time prices range from $100, paid once for Business Assignments to $650, paid once for the Trust-Based Plan. The maker also describes an eLegacy integration for state-specific attorney calls and document reviews, and says it is SOC 2 Type II certified. Advisors can retain access to client plans after ending their partnership with the service.

FreeWill provides web-based tools for making wills and other estate-planning documents. Its questionnaire takes about 20 minutes, and its documents can be used in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Users can make unlimited free edits and re-finalize updated versions. Tools include wills, revocable living trusts, beneficiary designations, financial powers of attorney, advance healthcare directives, and supplemental needs trusts. Users can include charitable gifts in their plans, and FreeWill partners with more than 2,400 nonprofits and businesses. Its nonprofit platform offers staff gift visibility, verified donor contact information, campaign analytics, and alerts for new commitments. Giving support includes donor-advised funds, stock and securities gifts, qualified charitable distributions, and cryptocurrency. FreeWill's plan costs $0.00 per free and requires no credit card; it includes a last will and testament, a California revocable living trust, an advance healthcare directive, and a financial power of attorney. FreeWill says it encrypts data at rest and in transit and does not sell users' personal data. The company cautions that online estate planning may not suit complex needs and encourages those users to seek legal counsel.