Last Will and Testament Price Comparison

From LawDepot Law Library

With the promise of big savings—of both time and money—do-it-yourself (DIY) legal websites are growing in popularity. The idea is that many basic legal tasks can be completed without consulting an attorney. Instead of paying high hourly rates, people are opting to try their hand at doing it themselves.

But do these sites deliver the huge savings that they promise? To find out, we compared the average cost, in both time and money, of creating a last will and testament with a lawyer to the cost of drafting a will using the DIY legal website LawDepot.com

According to the 2007 Altman Weil, Inc. Survey of Law Firm Economics an estate lawyer will charge, on average, $264 per hour. Assuming that it takes only 2 hours to draft a basic will, the legal fees charged by a lawyer to draft a last will and testament will be, on average, $528.

LawDepot.com, one of the top providers of online legal forms, charges $19.00 for its most basic will package. That’s a savings of over $500.

An analysis of the average time users spend on the site indicates that most tasks on LawDepot.com can be completed in 20 minutes. Most customers can complete a LawDepot will in approximately 30 minutes. Not only is that less time than you’d have to spend with a lawyer, you also don’t have to spend time driving to and from the lawyer’s office. Do-it-yourself legal services allow you to work at your own pace, from the comfort of your own home—no travel time is necessary.

While DIY legal websites definitely live up to the promise of big savings, they aren’t for everyone. While the basic wills that can be drafted on sites like LawDepot.com will suffice for the majority of people, those who need something more advanced should consult an attorney. DIY legal forms are great savers of both time and money.