Is FreeWill really free? What's the catch?

Yes, genuinely free. FreeWill makes money from charity-gifting partners — when you create a will and decide to leave a small bequest to a charity, those charities pay FreeWill for the platform. There's no obligation to leave a charitable bequest. We confirmed this by completing a full will without designating any charity, paying nothing, and downloading legally valid documents.

What's missing compared to paid services?

FreeWill provides a will, healthcare directive, and durable power of attorney. It does NOT provide a revocable living trust — for that you'd need Trust & Will or LegalZoom. There's no attorney consultation, no document review, no ongoing updates without re-doing the will. For estates that just need a will, FreeWill is functionally complete; for estates that need a trust, it isn't enough.

Are FreeWill documents legally valid?

Yes, when properly executed. FreeWill provides state-specific signing instructions and the documents meet the legal requirements for a will, healthcare directive, and POA in all 50 states. The 'free' part is the platform; the document quality is the same as what you'd get from Trust & Will or LegalZoom.

Does FreeWill work for complex estates?

No. FreeWill handles a basic individual will with simple beneficiaries and guardian designation for minor children. It does not handle: revocable living trusts (the most common 'next step' beyond a will), special-needs trusts, multi-state property, business succession, or blended-family complexity beyond stepchild guardian naming. For any of those situations, use Trust & Will or LegalZoom.

Can I update my FreeWill later?

Sort of — you can come back, log in, and re-do the will. There's no per-amendment update fee, but there's also no in-place editing of an existing will. You're effectively creating a new will each time. Date the new will properly and destroy old copies; the most recent one is the legal document.

ESTATE PLANNING · REVIEW

FreeWill Review (2026)

Updated May 8, 2026 · Reviewed by the WalletGrower editorial team · We completed a full will, healthcare directive, and POA on FreeWill without designating any charity bequest, and confirmed all three documents downloaded as legally valid PDFs at $0 total cost.

Bottom line

FreeWill is genuinely free, the will is legally valid, and most adults who don't have a will would benefit from spending the 20 minutes to use it. The catch isn't hidden — there's no living trust, no attorney consultation, and complex estates need a paid service. For the simple-will case (single individual, basic beneficiaries, guardianship for minor kids), FreeWill is the right answer over any paid service.

At a glance

Feature	FreeWill
Will	Free
Healthcare directive	Free
Durable power of attorney	Free
Revocable living trust	Not offered
Attorney consultation	Not offered
State coverage	All 50
Funding model	Charities pay platform fees when users gift them in wills
Average completion time	15–25 minutes

How FreeWill is actually free

FreeWill makes money from charity partners, not user fees. The partners — large nonprofits like the ASPCA, the American Heart Association, and many others — pay FreeWill for placement in the gifting flow. When you create a will, you're asked whether you'd like to leave a small bequest to a partner charity. If you do, the charity pays FreeWill a fee. If you don't, the charity pays nothing and you pay nothing — FreeWill operates at a loss on that user, subsidized by the users who do gift.

The model creates an obvious incentive for FreeWill to nudge users toward charitable bequests, but the nudge is light: the gifting page is one screen in the flow, declining is one click, and the rest of the will-creation experience is unchanged whether you gift or not.

What FreeWill does well

Cost. $0 is unbeatable. For users who currently have no will, the friction of $199 (Trust & Will) or $99 (LegalZoom) is real — and the gap between "no will" and "some will" is much larger than the gap between "basic will" and "premium will."

Speed. 15–25 minutes is the fastest in the space. Trust & Will averages 20–30 min; LegalZoom 45–60 min. FreeWill is designed for completion in one sitting on mobile.

Document quality is identical. The will, healthcare directive, and POA produced are state-specific and legally valid when executed per FreeWill's instructions. We'd use a FreeWill document in court without hesitation.

What FreeWill doesn't do

No revocable living trust. If you want a trust to avoid probate, you need Trust & Will or LegalZoom.
No attorney consultation. If you have any complexity worth talking through, FreeWill is the wrong tool.
No in-place editing. Updates require re-doing the will, which is functionally fine but slightly higher friction than competitors.
Limited beneficiary complexity. Conditional bequests ("to my niece, but only if she finishes college") require legal language FreeWill doesn't generate.

Who should use FreeWill

You don't have a will at all. Whatever the simple-will tool, just use it. FreeWill is the friction-free option.
Your estate is straightforward. Single person or married couple with normal kids, normal assets, no business interests, no special-needs dependents.
You're charitably-minded. If you were going to leave a bequest to a charity anyway, FreeWill makes that part of the flow easier than any other service.
You can't justify paying anything for a service. Cost is a real barrier for many users; $0 removes it.

Who should look elsewhere

You need a living trust → LegalZoom Basic Trust ($399) or Trust & Will's trust plan ($499).
Blended family / business owner / multi-state property → LegalZoom or an estate attorney directly.
You want attorney input → Rocket Lawyer ($39.99/mo, 7-day free trial) or LegalZoom.
Couple planning together → Cake.

Frequently asked questions

Disclosure: FreeWill is free to users; charities pay the platform when users designate bequests. WalletGrower has no affiliate relationship with FreeWill — we recommend it because it's the right tool for the simple-will use case, period. See our Estate Planning hub for the side-by-side comparison.

Information is for educational purposes and not legal advice.