FreeWill
{{Short description|Online legal service company}}
FreeWill Co is a company whose website, FreeWill.com, has online software which helps people write wills for free and make charitable contributions, and it reports each person's planned bequests to charities which pay subscription fees.{{Cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Paul |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/07/your-money/online-wills.html |title=Making Wills Easier and Cheaper With Do-It-Yourself Options |date=2018-09-07 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2020-04-23 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} It also helps people write advance healthcare directives{{Cite web |title=What is an Advance Healthcare Directive (AHCD)? |url=https://www.freewill.com/advance-healthcare-directive |access-date=2020-08-21 |website=FreeWill |language=en}} and living trusts in California.
Background
FreeWill is a public benefit corporation founded at Stanford University in 2017 by Jennifer Xia Spradling and Patrick Schmitt. It has two social missions: The first is to create access to estate planning for all individuals regardless of their backgrounds or ability to pay. The second is to make it easy for people to leave money to charity. As a public benefit corporation, they are legally obligated to pursue their social missions in addition to seeking financial return.{{Cite web|title=Write Your Legal Will Online, Free & Simple|url=https://www.freewill.com/about|access-date=2020-08-11|website=FreeWill|language=en}}
The idea originated from Schmitt's work with the Democratic National Committee in fundraising. After working on his own estate planning, he figured that a website could be created that could simplify the process and that doing so could help raise money for charitable causes.{{Cite news|last=Wilson|first=Alexandra|title=The Will To Give: This End-Of-Life Platform Is Facilitating $1.1 Billion In Charitable Donations|language=en|work=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrawilson1/2020/03/13/the-will-to-give-this-end-of-life-platform-is-facilitating-11-billion-in-charitable-donations/|access-date=2022-05-23|url-access=limited}}
Town & Country magazine ranked the founding of FreeWill as one of the top 50 Philanthropic efforts of 2019.{{Cite web|date=2019-05-22|title=Meet the T&C 50: The Top Philanthropists of 2019|url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/g27496997/top-50-philanthropists-2019/?slide=37|access-date=2022-05-23|website=Town & Country|language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208000630/https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/g27496997/top-50-philanthropists-2019/?slide=37 |archive-date=2021-02-08 |url-status=live}}
Business model
Charities pay a fee to FreeWill to have the charity's name included in the software, and they receive reports of the name, address, assets, and planned bequest for each donor who agrees.{{Cite news |last=Guzman |first=Zack |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/startup-lets-write-will-free-donating-charity-171230473.html |title=This startup lets you write a will for free by donating to charity |date=2018-10-16 |work=Yahoo Finance |access-date=2020-04-23 |language=en-US}} Donors are not required to leave money to charity.{{Cite web|title=Write Your Legal Will Online, Free & Simple|url=https://www.freewill.com/nonprofits|access-date=2020-08-11|website=FreeWill|language=en}}
The company's products include wills, durable financial power of attorney, qualified charitable distributions, stock donations. and living wills (also known as advance healthcare directives or healthcare power of attorney). FreeWill offers a living trust only in California.{{Cite web|title=Write Your Legal Will Online, Free & Simple|url=https://www.freewill.com/revocable-living-trusts|access-date=2020-08-11|website=FreeWill|language=en}}
After entering all will information, users have options to download the will, get more information, or see a lawyer, in which case the site offers the American Bar Association directory of all lawyers.
Market
As of June 2021, 295,000 people have prepared wills on the platform, 19% have included bequests to charities, and bequests average $111,000. The planned bequests total $3 billion. The largest numbers of donations
have been for the American Red Cross,{{Cite web |url=https://redcrosslegacy.org/make-plan/getting-started |title=Getting Started|website=redcrosslegacy.org |access-date=2020-04-27}}
United Way,{{Cite web |url=https://www.uwwesternct.org/freewill |title=United Way of Western Connecticut |website=www.uwwesternct.org |access-date=2020-04-27}}
Defenders of Wildlife{{Cite web |url=https://defenders.org/planned-giving/gifts-your-will-or-trust |title=Gifts from Your Will or Trust |website=Defenders of Wildlife |language=en |access-date=2020-04-27}}
and Disabled American Veterans.{{Cite magazine|title=Give beyond Your Years |date=March 2020 |url=https://www.dav.org/wp-content/uploads/Magazine_2020_MarApr.pdf |magazine=DAV Magazine |page=37 |access-date=2020-04-27}}
The average user is 57 years old.{{Cite news |last=Pinsker |first=Beth |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-wills-idUSKBN21E2GX |title=Your Money: The one document Americans need now - Power of attorney |date=2020-03-27 |work=Reuters |access-date=2020-04-23 |language=en}}
Privacy
FreeWill is not a law firm and does not have an attorney-client relationship with customers. Privacy statements let the company store information on assets, children bequests, medical and religious preferences and use them to target ads and fundraising appeals.{{Cite web |url=https://www.freewill.com/privacy |title=Privacy Statement |date=2020-04-13 |website=FreeWill |language=en |access-date=2020-04-21}} "interest-based advertising;... organizations and their planned giving consultants to facilitate and report donations"
FreeWill says it uses modern security protocols.{{Cite web|title=Write Your Legal Will Online, Free & Simple|url=https://www.freewill.com/security|access-date=2020-08-11|website=FreeWill|language=en}} They acknowledge that information can escape in security breaches, for which they do not accept liability.
Dispute resolution
FreeWill disclaims liability for errors and omissions in their software; they also note that laws change rapidly.{{Cite web |url=https://www.freewill.com/terms |title=Terms of Service |date=2019-09-19 |website=FreeWill |language=en |access-date=2020-04-27}} If people nevertheless have disputes with the company, the users and company agree to use small claims courts or individual arbitration in New York City under "Commercial Arbitration Rules that contemplate in-person hearings." The company's offices are in New York City,{{Cite web |title=FreeWill, Raising a million dollars a day for charity |url=https://angel.co/company/freewill-co |website=angel.co |access-date=2020-05-14}} and it is incorporated in Delaware.{{Cite web |title=Freewill Co. · 300 W 57th Street 40th Floor, New York, New York 10019 |url=http://opendatany.com/corporation.php?id=5372642 |website=opendatany.com |access-date=2020-05-14}}