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How Secure is my Information at LegalWills.ca?

Security Assured

This site uses state-of-the-art digital encryption and security technologies to protect the privacy and security of our member information and has specific security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control.

All data passing from your computer to LegalWills.ca is authenticated and encrypted using 256-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption using technologies provided by Comodo. This is the most advanced level of encryption available today, and it means that any information sent from your computer is scrambled in a way which makes it completely unintelligible if intercepted. When you are on a secure section within the web site (i.e. after you have logged in as a member), a padlock will appear on your web browser. This is your assurance that the encryption is in place and that you are communicating across a secure link.

We do not store any of your credit card information.  All credit card transactions are processed through a third party secure gateway, and the information your provide is only used for making the current transaction.  No information about your or about your credit card is ever stored on our website, in our databases, on our web servers, or on the secure gateway server.

All sensitive personal information is stored in a highly encrypted format on our server.  We use an industry standard high security streaming-encryption algorithm known as "RSA" to encrypt all sensitive personal information before it is stored online. RSA is a public-key cryptosystem developed by MIT professors Ronald Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman. (To give you a feeling for the level of security provided by this encryption, it has been estimated that with the most efficient algorithms known to date, it would take a computer operating at 1 million instructions per second over 300 quintillion years to break the encryption.)  Also, the encryption method used ensures that the only way possible to access and view the sensitive personal information stored here by a LegalWills.ca member is by using a private internal encryption key which is unique for every member.  Our software algorithms ensure that the encryption and decryption of a member's sensitive personal information can only be performed by the member themselves, or by those designates to which the member has provided a separate unique key known as a "Keyholder® ID".  It is not even possible for the operators of this website to decrypt a member's sensitive personal information without knowledge of this encryption key.  Note that some services require temporary decryption of a member's documents as part of the operation of providing that service.  For example, if the member wants to have their Will reviewed by one of our legal professionals, or wants to have their documents printed and mailed to them, then the software will automatically decrypt these documents as part of the member's instructions to have these services performed.

We also provide 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) and recommend that all members turn on this feature within their account, to protect against unauthorized access. 2FA works by adding an additional layer of security to your online account. It requires an additional login credential – beyond just the UserID and Password – to gain account access. Getting that second credential requires access to something that belongs to you, such as a cell phone and/or a personal email address.

As an additional security measure, all successful and unsuccessful attempts to login to a member's account are logged in our database along with date/time stamps, IP addresses, and other detectable information from the user.  This information will be used for law enforcement purposes and for the protection of our members should there be any suspicion of unauthorized access to our database.

Furthermore, we offer members the option of receiving an email alert message whenever their sensitive personal information is accessed, or attempted to be accessed, using a valid key.  If unauthorized access is suspected, clicking a link within the email will immediately disable access to the member's sensitive personal information for that key, until the member re-enables the access themselves, or until we are contacted by the member and provided with specific information validating their identity.

To protect against catastrophic data loss, daily backups are performed on each of our servers. Hence, if any one of our servers experienced technical difficulties, our member data would not be at risk.

We also employ a number of physical security mechanisms to ensure the physical protect of your information.  Physical protection of our systems includes:

  • Fire detection and fire suppression systems with dry pipe pre-action sprinkler systems

  • N + 1 redundant power supplies, providing dual power feeds and backup batteries, water coolant systems and generators

  • N + 1 redundant climate control, providing primary and backup chiller units, cooling towers, and water storage

  • Local network operations center (NOC) for monitoring all data center operations

  • 24x7 monitoring and support of network connection and server availability

  • 24x7 uniformed guard service with interior and exterior closed-circuit television surveillance

  • Electronic access at all data center entrances, including biometric hand scanners

  • Electronic key management systems and individually keyed cabinets

We perform ongoing security vulnerability and penetration testing. Our database is scanned weekly for security and vulnerability issues, and our web server is scanned monthly to ensure it is fully protected against any new and emerging security vulnerability threats.

The most important security element of any service is the team that runs it. We do not use any temporary staff, nor do we use any offshore or outsourced staff. All of our services were developed locally, and no contract staff were used in the coding of our site. Furthermore, every member of our support team is a full time employee and has been with the company for over five years. We all love working here and are here to help you.

As you can tell, we take the security and privacy of all of our member information very seriously.

Don't take our word for it. Try it out for yourself.  We have worked with lawyers in Canada to bring you these services and to ensure that they are of the highest quality.  Best of all, you can try all of our services right now for free, without any commitment. Just click on a link below to get started. Try us out. Then decide if you want to pay.

How It Works

When you create a Will or legal document at LegalWills, you can designate up to 20 different Keyholders®. Your chosen Keyholders® will be given the trust and power to unlock specific information within your account such as health care directives, funeral wishes, final messages, uploaded files, Power of Attorney, or Last Will and Testament.

You can also implement security mechanisms to prevent premature access to these documents. The entire process of creating your Will and other legal documents at LegalWills is seamless and iterative, meaning you can continue to make changes until you're happy with the final product.

Create Your Documents in Five Easy Steps

file
Create Your Documents

Creating your documents is quick and easy with LegalWills. Simply fill out the required fields and proceed to the next step.

key
Select Your Keyholders®

Entrust up to 20 individuals to unlock your wishes when the time is right.

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Edit Your Documents for Up To One Year for Free

Make any changes to your documents using our online service.

lock
Keyholders® Request Access

When the time is right, your selected Keyholders® will have the ability to unlock your wishes.

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Documents are Released to Keyholders®

When the time comes and your Keyholders® request access to your documents, your wishes will be entrusted in their hands.

View Sample Will
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Frequently Asked Questions

There is no requirement to use the services of a lawyer or notary public to prepare your own estate planning documents, including your Last Will and Testament.

The law that defines the legality of a Will is written specifically for each Province, State and Country, but in summary the law requires that the Will is written on a piece of paper and signed in the presence of two witnesses who cannot be beneficiaries to the Will.

Lawyers can certainly help you to prepare your Will, but everybody has a legal right to write their own Will. If you create a document using our service, it must be printed, signed and witnessed according to our instructions, and then it becomes a legal Last Will and Testament.
Quite simply, because we do not provide you with legal advice.

We are giving you direct access to the same software that lawyers use to prepare their documents, but you are doing it yourself. However, if you need custom clauses written to cover an unusual situation, we cannot do that, and we recommend that you seek legal advice. For example, if you have a child with special needs, they would need a trust written for their inheritance. We don't do that.

In most cases, a document written using our service will be word-for-word identical to one prepared by a lawyer.

For a more thorough explanation, please read our blog article: The Cost of a Will in Canada – Explained.

There are no other payments required to prepare your legal Will. You can have a legal Will in your hands for $49.95CAD with nothing else to pay, ever.

What other options are there?
If you wish, you can have your Will reviewed by one of our lawyers for $69.00CAD. Most people do not need this, and would not benefit from it, but if you have selected an option such as "None of the above. Let me describe in detail how to distribute my estate.", then you may want to consider this. (Currently not available in Ontario.)

Your Will must first be printed, and then signed in the presence of two witnesses. If you do not have access to a printer, we can print it for you and mail it out. The cost for this is $9.95CAD, but again, most people do not need this option.

We also offer other services like MyLifeLocker™, a Financial Power of Attorney, and a Living Will. They are not required, but they may be useful to you depending on your situation.

What about document storage?
We do not store physical documents, but we allow you to maintain an account with us if you want to update your document in the future.

The Will service costs $49.95CAD. With this payment, you are able to prepare your Will. It also gives you one year of unlimited updates to the document. You are able to print the document as often as you wish during that first year. You can download it as a PDF or Word file, but to make your document a legal Will, it must first be printed, and then signed in the presence of two witnesses. The online version is there for your convenience only.

If you choose not to maintain an account with us after the first year, your initial payment is all you will ever pay. We do not keep credit card details on file and cannot automatically charge beyond this initial payment.

If you wish, you can choose to store your documents online for longer than a year, which will make it easier to make updates in the future to reflect any changes in your personal or financial situation (rather than returning to a lawyer each time). This is of course optional, but it does make the process of maintaining your document more convenient. $11.95CAD will give you one additional year of updates, or you can purchase multiple years: 5 years at $29.95CAD, 10 years at $39.95CAD, 25 years at $79.95CAD ($3.20CAD per year).

Every time you make an update to your Will, it must first be printed, and then signed in the presence of two witnesses again. If you choose not to maintain an account with us, you will always have your printed, signed document. If you don't need to make changes to that document, it will last you for the rest of your life, whether or not you have an account with us.

What happens if I don't maintain an account, and then in a few years I need to update it?
If your account has not been touched in years, and it is inactive, we reserve the right to remove the account. You will receive an email notification that your account might be removed. However, in practice, we have never actually removed any accounts in our over 24 years of operation.

So, in all likelihood, you will be able to simply login to your account and pay $11.95CAD to reactivate it. This will give you one year of unlimited updates from the date of payment. (You will not have to pay for your inactive years.)

Yes.  A Power of Attorney (also known as a Power of Attorney for Finances) and Living Will (also known as a Power of Attorney for Health Care), are very important documents that should be created and updated at the same time as your Will.

This website allows you to create a Will, Expatriate Will, Power of Attorney and Living Will .
Here are just a few differences:

  • We have designed our legal document creation services to be of the best quality available today.    We have evaluated many existing do-it-yourself kits and web-based services, including several of the most popular Canadian legal will kits. We were shocked by the poor quality, limited instructions, and low value for money that many of these do-it-yourself kits provide consumers. 

  • Incredible value for money.   Our membership pricing model allows us to provide you with the most value for your money at prices that are unprecedented in the legal industry. We worked with lawyers to bring you this service, and we paid for their legal services so you don't have to. 

  • Plain language help and instructions.  In addition, all of our services provide you with complete instructions and answer your questions in everyday language, free of legal industry jargon.  We have developed our services based on the requirements of the public, not dictated by the legal profession.  Our wizards, help and information are also designed to be the best on the market and are kept up-to-date on an ongoing basis.  

  • Create your Will from the comfort of your own home.  No lawyer required.  Our unique approach allows you to make use of the ultimate convenience of the Internet to write your Will at your own pace, online, and to make changes online at any time free of charge. 

  • Free unlimited updates.  Don't pay a lawyer every time you need to update your Will. We allow your Will to be kept securely online so that you can make free unlimited updates for as long as you are a member.

  • You can still have it reviewed by a lawyer. We have worked with lawyers in Canada to bring you these services and to ensure that they are of the highest quality. But if you wish, we can still arrange for your documents to be reviewed by one of our lawyers, who will check the documents for consistency and completeness. (Currently not available in Ontario.)

  • The Keyholder® Advantage. You can take advantage of our unique messaging service which allows you to describe the exact location of your Will and to provide a detailed list of assets for your Executor. All for no extra charge. When you pass away, let us worry about communicating this information to the people you specify. There is simply no other company that provides such a complete and convenient service to their customers. For more information, read about The Keyholder® Advantage .

  • We employ a strong focus on protecting the privacy and security of your information.   We use industry standard encryption algorithms for storing all of your private information, and the design of our services ensures that the contents of your information are made available to the specific people designated by yourself, and only at the appropriate time. 

  • Keep informed and up to date.  If you wish, we can inform you by email about any changes in legislation which may have occurred in your jurisdiction that may require changes to your Will.  Or we can send you simple email reminders, no more than once a year, to remind you to consider updating your Will if any significant changes have occurred in your life.  

Other websites and do-it-yourself kits simply do not compare.

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