Making a will online is cheaper and more convenient: Here is how to do it

An individual with assets in one state can get it done for Rs 2,500-4,000

If you have limited assets, making a will online will work out to be much cheaper and convenient. Once you have the list of assets that you want to bequeath, you can make an e-will, within just a few minutes, by paying Rs 2,500-4,000 (excluding taxes).

While there are a few players that have been offering e-will services for a while, start-ups are also joining the bandwagon. Recently, LawRato.com launched Willstar to offer e-will. An individual can make a will online, via an app, or can even buy a do-it-yourself (DIY) kit from Amazon for Rs 399. Then, there are established players like SBICAP Trustee Company, which lets you make a will for just Rs 2,500. HDFC Securities offers an online will service at a fee of Rs 4,000 and NSDL has EzeeWill in partnership with Warmond Trustees and Executors that, again for a fee of Rs 4,000.

To make a will online, the user needs to register on one of these websites. Once completed, the will is emailed and/or sent via courier to the customer concerned. For the same process, lawyers charge anywhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs 40,000. These firms also let you include digital assets like copyright on a software, Bitcoin, and digital photos that can earn royalty.

But if your assets are in different states or countries, online will may not work for you. A will can also get complicated with the community a user belongs to, the mix of assets he owns, and the location of these assets. Sharia law, for example, doesn’t allow the entire assets to be transmitted through a will. If someone owns a piece of land in Goa, there are chances that Portuguese laws can govern it, and the laws to distribute inherited properties are different from those for acquired properties.

These companies, therefore, also offer customised services. An individual can get in touch with partnering law firms, which charge more to draft a complicated will. If you have assets outside India, it is best to have separate wills – one each for India and outside the country. The will made in India may not be legally binding in other countries.

Most of these players don’t keep customers’ data with them. Once a user finalises his will, the data are purged for security and confidentiality. So, if you want to make changes to the will later, you will need to go through the entire procedure all over again. Returning customers, however, get a discount which varies from company to company.

Once the documentation is done, there are certain things that individuals need to undertake. After customers get their will, they need to take a print of the document and get two witnesses to sign it. To make it legally more robust, service providers say customers should register the will. The cost of registration starts at Rs 7,000. It may be higher, depending on the states, asset mix and value of assets.

It will also help if you get a medical certificate from a doctor. If someone challenges the will, this document will help prove that you were in a sound state of mind when you made it. While attesting the will, too, you can video record it.