When you die without a WILL there are many hurdles which your family had to go through for claiming the legacy. Worse if any dispute arises then they can be deprived of those assets till the disputes are resolved. Many a times such disputes drag for years and can be disastrous for the family. To avoid all such situation writing a Will is very effective. Through it you lay down your wishes as to who should get what from your legacy. There are many ways through which you can write an effective will.
Having said that for writing a WILL services of experts are required. Most lawyers, in general, charge somewhere between Rs 10000- Rs 25000 for writing a Will. For people who don’t have much assets or less of complication find these cost to be too high. This is one of the primary reason why many do not think of writing a Will or even if they write they miss out on its effectiveness.
If you want to “Do it Yourself” – Read:
Step by Step guide to writing a WILL & why its so important
Affordable Online WILL services is aiming to bridge this gap. It initially started with a cost of Rs 10000 which has come down to as low as Rs 4000. HDFC Securities and the newly launched ezeewill.com by NSDL in alliance with Warmond Trustees are the existing players.This service mainly caters to people who cannot afford those higher cost of lawyers. But it’s wiser to understand the nitty-gritties of any low cost services and how it fares in the competition:
What is Online WILL?
As the name suggest it’s a service where you provide all information online through the company website. The information contain details of your assets, liabilities, beneficiaries, executors and your wish on the distribution. Once you provide the information the company sends you the Will through one of the various means it has. Thus there is hardly any human intervention and the entire process is online.
How does Online WILL service works?
To understand the Process of online Will service we will understand ezeewill.com. Whatever information is provided here is being taken from the company website. First you have to register on the company website. Once you get yourself registered you have to login with your credentials. On the company provided form you have to provide details viz your assets, liabilities, beneficiaries and how your wish to distribute your assets among them. As you have filled this information and aiming to submit it you have to make the payment of their services for which various options are given. When payment is being made – you can submit the information, the company sends backs a draft of the Will as per given information. This draft is for your review and any correction or changes to be made has to be notified to the company. Once you have reviewed the draft and notified any changes the company send the final copy through email or courier. The company has set a timeline for the entire service which is one month from registration. You also have the benefit of submitting the information not in one go but as per your comfort. Whatever information you are submitting you can review and make corrections if required.
Other Benefits of Online WILL
There are host of other benefits which the company provides in online Will service. If you wish to rework your will or make changes after delivering the final copy it can be done but with an additional cost of Rs 250 –Rs 1000. If you need a consultant to advise you, it is provided by the company and you have to pay an additional cost for it. Similarly there will be cost for any additional services you wish to avail.
Who Should Avail Online Will writing service?
No doubt online WILL services will give many an option to create their Will at a fairly lower cost. But it’s not that it will suit everyone. People who have limited assets and a simple Will need to be written will find it very useful. But if you have large number of assets or business interest or complexities in distributing your wealth then you will need a good guidance from experts. In such instances paying the fees to an expert will be wiser.
Online Will is cost effective. If you have been delaying your Will writing due to the cost factor then this provides you an opportunity to plan for it now. But do remember that such services are structured as per their cost and so its wiser to understand your requirement to identify the actual total cost you will incur.
Do you have a WILL??
Hi Hemant,
Thanks for reminding us of the importance of having a WILL and one more reason to do the same; via ONLINE WILL.
I don’t recollect the website who offers ONLINE will services for under 1000 INR. It was shown in the CNBC Awaaz YourMoney show a few months back. Please let me know if it is authentic or should we only go with HDFC/NSDL services for online will preparation
TS,
In our view there is hardly any company which offers online will drafting at Rs 1000. The minimum cost of online Will at these companies is Rs 4000. You can go ahead with them as per your requirement.
Nice article. Very well explained. I trade thru ICICI Securities & they have a service for writing Will costing Rs 7500.
Any comments about their Services?
Dr. M. Chandrashekhar,
Haven’t reviewed their services. But in general Online Will services are same with respect to the process they follow. There is limited human interaction till the draft of the Will is given to you. You can check the process wherein what they actually are offering and compare it with others to see if there is any difference in the process. If there is not much then you can avail the services.
Very nice article. My question is weather this will have a legal authentication. How these are signed and who will be witness? what is the validity of this type of will. What if legal heir denied to accept it on ground of validity?
Manish,
The companies are giving you only the draft of the Will. It is to be signed by the testator (Person who is making the Will) and the witnesses at your end. Since you can write a Will even on a plain piece of paper what matters is the content. Here the company provides you the content in a language which is created by their legal teams. The validity of a Will also arises from its content i.e. the language used, the mistakes, the situation in which a will is written etc. But as the article says it may not be a fit for all product. If your assets distribution requires advice involve a professional.
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