WillMaker is the only DIY estate planning product that offers its documents both online and as downloadable software..
When you buy Nolo's Quicken WillMaker & Trust, you can choose to make your documents:
- in the online WillMaker app, or
- using software downloaded to your computer.
Here is a comparison chart.
Why Two Versions?
For decades Nolo provided WillMaker as software that you install on your computer. In the beginning, the software came on a floppy disk, then it moved to a CD, and now it comes as a download. And many customers still prefer to use it this way.
However, because so much of the DIY world has moved online, we want to make sure our customers have that option, too. So we created an online version of WillMaker, and now our customers have a choice about how to create their estate planning documents—online or using downloadable software.
What They Both Have
In most ways, the two versions of WillMaker are the same--both provide the same time-tested estate planning documents with nearly identical interviews. With both, you also get:
- All documents included in one price
- Use for all immediate family members
- Time-tested wills, trusts, and powers of attorney
- Technical support available M-F 8am-5pm EST
- Annual renewal available at a reduced cost, and
- Nolo's no-hassle money-back guarantee
But there are a few important differences between the two versions, for example where you make your documents, where your data is stored, the purchase process, and how renewals work.
Location of the Software and Your Data
The main difference between the online and downloadable versions of WillMaker is a matter of location--where you do the work and where your data is stored. Would you rather make your documents (and store your data):
- online—with any device and an internet browser, or
- on your personal computer, needing the internet only for the initial download and occasional updates?
The choice is yours, and you can use both platforms. But keep in mind that data does not transfer from one to the other--see below.
Included Documents
The two versions of WillMaker provide all of the same documents, with these exceptions: Only the download version of WillMaker contains
- Information for Caregivers and Survivors and
- WillMaker's documents for executors.
How You Purchase WillMaker
No matter how you buy WillMaker you get access to both the online and download versions of WillMaker. (The one big exception to this is WillMaker Premium, sold at Costco, that is download-only.) But there are several ways to purchase WillMaker, and how you purchase determines which version you get first.
|
|
Purchase Point |
How You Get WillMaker |
| Online at WillMaker.com |
|
Get your online account first, then download the software from the customer portal |
| Software |
|
Get the software download first, then register the software to get access to WillMaker online. |
| Premium Software |
|
Get your download via Costco. No online access, but it includes a library of books. |
(No) Interoperability
Although you can use WillMaker online or as software, the two platforms don't share data, so you can't work on the same document in both places.
Said another way, you can make documents in both versions, but you can't start a document on one platform and then continue working on it on the other platform.
Renewals and Version Years
Your purchase of WillMaker is time-limited--either by the date of purchase (online) or by the version year of the product (download).
Online
When you purchase the online version of WillMaker (usually at willmaker.com), you're purchasing a year-long membership to WillMaker.com. For one year from your date of purchase, you can make and edit all of your estate planning documents. 30 days from the expiration date, you'll be able to renew at a steep discount. If you don't renew, for 90 days after the expiration date, you'll be able to view, edit, and print any documents you've completed. After 90 days, you will no longer have access to the documents in your account.
The online version of WillMaker receives ongoing legal and technical updates.
Download
When you buy or use the download version of WillMaker, you own the software forever--you'll always be able to make and edit the documents you make with the software. However, the download version will receive updates only through the version year. So WillMaker 2025 will receive legal and technical updates through 2025.
Does this mean that using the online and download versions together can give you (much) more than a year of access to WillMaker? Yes! However, keep in mind that the documents you make using one platform will not transfer to the other platform.
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