Willful Launches Free Wills for Healthcare Workers
We’ve seen an increasing number of Canadians discussing end-of-life planning with loved ones and turning to tools like Willful to complete their estate plan while social distancing, and we hope this makes it easier for healthcare workers to get these documents finalized.
TORONTO (PRWEB)
March 31, 2020
Today Toronto-based estate planning platform Willful announced it has partnered with U.S.-based Trust & Will to offer thousands of free wills and Power of Attorney documents to frontline healthcare workers in the U.S. and Canada who are working in hospitals and urgent care centres treating COVID-19. Healthcare administrators in both countries have called for doctors, nurses, and other frontline healthcare professionals to get these documents in order since their jobs result in higher exposure to the virus. Online platforms like Willful and Trust & Will make it easy for anyone to create a legally-binding will and Power of Attorney documents online in less than 20 minutes, giving healthcare workers an easy way to complete these documents without having to visit a lawyer. An AngusReid survey conducted by Willful showed that 57% of Canadian adults don’t have a will, of those who do, 10% are out-of-date.
“We’re incredibly grateful to the healthcare workers who are risking their lives to keep us safe, and as a Canadian small business, we wanted to do whatever we could to help our local frontline workers who are treating COVID-19 patients,” said Erin Bury, co-founder & CEO, Willful. “We’ve seen an increasing number of Canadians discussing end-of-life planning with loved ones and turning to tools like Willful to complete their estate plan while social distancing, and we hope this makes it easier for healthcare workers to get these documents finalized.”
Willful launched in 2017 and has helped thousands of Canadians create their wills and Power of Attorney documents from home. The platform offers three plans catered to singles and couples ranging from $99-249, and as part of this initiative the company will be giving away 1,000 of its Premium plans, each valued at $149, until April 30. The Premium plan comes with three documents: a will, which allows users to plan for what happens when they pass away, and two Power of Attorney documents, which allow users to appoint someone to make medical and financial decisions in case they become incapacitated. Each plan also comes with free will registry on the CanadaWillRegistry, a $35 value.
Canadian law requires that wills are printed, signed, and witnessed correctly in order to be legally-valid, which presents challenges for anyone social distancing, self-isolating, or quarantining. Since many Canadians have lost access to a printer, Willful is offering free printing and shipping of documents for a limited time. The company also created a guide outlining how to get a will signed and witnessed during COVID-19. Recognizing the limitations in current laws, Willful partner NoticeConnect, the owner of the CanadaWillRegistry, launched a petition to amend the law to recognize virtual witnesses to address this issue.
Willful is available in seven Canadian provinces, and the company has partnered with San Diego-based Trust & Will to refer customers to each other’s services. Trust & Will’s modern estate planning platform is available nationwide, and executed the first digital Will (eWill) in 2019 in Nevada. Several U.S. states now allow for the digital signing of Wills. Trust & Will is offering free Wills, Power of Attorney, and Healthcare Directive documents to frontline healthcare workers in the U.S., where COVID-19 cases are now the highest globally.
“As a husband to a spouse who works in a hospital, and whose colleagues are like family to us, it hit close to home seeing the risk that healthcare professionals are putting themselves in every day right now. The last thing that should be weighing down on any healthcare professional, especially if they are a parent, is not having an estate plan in place,” said Cody Barbo, CEO, Trust & Will. “We are grateful to be working with our friends to the North at Willful, to help spread the word about their offer to help Canadian healthcare professionals. We are all in this together!”
To learn more about Willful’s initiative for healthcare workers, visit willful.co/support-healthcare
To learn more about Trust & Will’s initiative for healthcare workers, visit trustandwill.com/frontline-heroes
About Willful
Willful’s mission is to change the way Canadians prepare for and deal with death. Their first product is an online platform that makes it affordable, convenient, and easy for Canadians to create a legal will online. The platform provides simplified estate planning services (creation of a Legal Will and Power of Attorney documents), enabling consumers to create a will and/or power of attorney by following a clear step-by-step process. Willful’s platform was developed in collaboration with leading estate lawyers, with pricing plans starting at $99. Willful is based in Toronto, and it is currently available to residents of Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
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