Wills & Online Will Services

A will names guardians for kids, names an executor, designates beneficiaries for property without a beneficiary form. Free templates are valid for simple cases; trusts, blended families, business owners, multi-state property need an attorney. State law matters — every state has its own witnessing / notarization rules. For the broader vault see Estate, Will & End-of-Life Planning; for living trusts see Living Trusts; for the digital-account half see Digital Legacy & Vault; for vital docs storage see Self-Hosted Vital Docs and Insurance & Vital Documents.

Free online will services (★ start here)

• ★ ★ FreeWill — free; funded by nonprofit-charity beneficiary partnerships; reputable; state-specific; the 2026 default for "I just need a basic will." Print, sign, witness. Covers all 50 US states.
• ★ DoYourOwnWill — free; basic; state-aware templates; been around forever.
• ★ Cake — free + paid; end-of-life-flavored; state-specific wills + advance directives + funeral wishes in one flow.
• GivingDocs — free via nonprofit partners; same model as FreeWill.

State-specific free templates

• ★ California Statutory Will — free template codified in CA Probate Code; fill in the blanks, sign with two witnesses. Maine, Wisconsin, Michigan have similar statutory will forms.
• State Bar Association free templates — most state bars publish free will templates / pamphlets; usually less polished than FreeWill but legally identical.
• Nolo free articles — free; the long-running DIY-legal publisher's how-to library.

Paid online will (more polish, lawyer review)

• ★ Trust & Will — paid (~$160 will, ~$600 trust); clean UX, attorney review available; the 2026 paid default for middle-class families.
• LegalZoom — paid; older incumbent; pricier; broader legal-doc catalog.
• Quicken WillMaker — paid (~$110/yr or one-time perpetual); desktop app from Nolo; comprehensive; been around for 30 years.
• Rocket Lawyer — paid subscription; will + ongoing legal-doc service.
• Tomorrow — paid mobile app; will + life-insurance upsell.
• GoodTrust — paid; digital-legacy-flavored.

Self-prep books (cheap and surprisingly thorough)

• ★ Nolo's "Quick & Legal Will Book" — paid (~$25); the will half.
• ★ Nolo's "Make Your Own Living Trust" — paid (~$35); the trust half. See Living Trusts.
• Nolo's "Plan Your Estate" — paid; the comprehensive volume.

When the free template is fine

• Single, simple estate (one home, normal accounts), straightforward beneficiaries.
• Small estate (state-specific, but commonly under $50–100K outside the home).
• No minor children with complicated guardianship needs.
• No business interests, no special-needs dependents, no blended-family conflicts.

When you need an attorney

• ★ Estate over the state estate-tax threshold (varies — MA $2M, OR $1M, federal $13.9M+ in 2026).
• Blended family / second marriage / stepkids you want to provide for differently.
• Special-needs dependents (special-needs trust to preserve benefits).
• Business owner — succession + buy-sell agreements.
• Multi-state real estate.
• Anticipated will contest.
• Anything the form doesn't have a checkbox for.

License / pricing

• FreeWill, DoYourOwnWill, GivingDocs, state-bar templates: free.
• Cake: free + paid.
• Trust & Will, LegalZoom, Quicken WillMaker, Rocket Lawyer, Tomorrow, GoodTrust: paid.
• Nolo books: paid one-time.
• Local estate attorney: paid (~$300–800 simple will, $2–5K trust package).

Pick this if…

• Just need a basic will, free: FreeWill.
• End-of-life wishes alongside the will, free: Cake.
• Want clean UX, will pay: Trust & Will.
• Like desktop apps, will pay once: Quicken WillMaker.
• California / statutory-will state: the state-statutory form is free and battle-tested.
• Anything complicated: call an estate attorney; the online forms are not the answer.