Is it safe to use the LegalWills.co.za online Will and other services?

Security Assured

If I am using the LegalWills.co.za online Will and other services, how secure is it?

When you step through any of our services at LegalWills.co.za, including our online Will service, you will be entering a lot of personal information. It is reasonable to seek some reassurance around the privacy and security of your data.

LegalWills.co.za has been online since 2001, and in this time we have never experienced any compromise of our data systems. We do not sell, exchange or pass on your information to any other company whatsoever. But let us explain a little more about how we protect your information.

Protected with 2-Factor Authentication (2FA)

We 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.

Encryption of data passing between you and LegalWills.co.za

All information passing between you and the services at LegalWills.co.za (including our online Will service) is authenticated and encrypted using 256-bit Secure Socket Layer encryption. This means that if your information is intercepted on its way to us, then it would be entirely unintelligible. We use Comodo to provide this service. Also, most browsers will display a padlock in the address bar. This means that information is securely encrypted. You should never submit information to any website unless this padlock is visible in your browser address bar.

Use of your credit card information

Unlike many of our competitors, we do not store your credit card information on file. As soon as you have completed a transaction, your credit card information is removed from our system.

This is important for two reasons. Firstly, we cannot "lose" this information if somebody were to access our database without the authority to do so. It also means that we cannot automatically charge you anything on a recurring basis. You will never be charged anything by LegalWills.co.za unless you step through the payment process.

Your information stored at LegalWills.co.za

None of your information is stored in our database as plain text data. This means that we do not store your Wills, or any other plain documents. If there was unauthorised access to our database, nobody could see your Will or any of your other documents, including your Messages, Living Will, LifeLocker or Vault. The documents are compiled and generated on command, based on the information that you enter (for example, married = 1, single = 2). The data is further encrypted using "RSA" - a cryptosystem developed by two MIT professors.

The only way that information can be accessed is through your own personal "key" which is your User ID and Password. It can also be accessed by your designated Keyholders® if you choose to take advantage of this service. If you choose to have your documents printed and sent to you, or reviewed by our lawyers, then you invoke a temporary decryption of your data.

Our security traces

We capture all activity performed within an account, including unsuccessful login attempts. Each account has a security trace that logs IP addresses, with timestamps. This information can and will be used for law enforcement purposes if there is any suspicion of unauthorised activity on an account.

Our services are secured against data loss

Our servers are backed up on a daily basis to a different location. If there was a physical problem with any of our servers, your personal information would not be lost. At the physical location of our computer systems we have protection against fire, flood and electrical issues. We also have 24 hour electronic monitoring of our computer systems. In addition, we have a 24x7 uniformed guard service with interior and exterior CCTV coverage.

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 team at LegalWills.co.za

Experts agree that the most significant risk to data privacy and security is the team entrusted to maintain the service. At LegalWills.co.za, we do not employ temporary staff, nor do we use offshore or outsourced staff. All of our services, including the online Will service, were developed by our local team and no contract staff were used in the development of our services. Every single member of the development and support team has been with LegalWills.co.za for over a decade. We all enjoy working here and love to help people prepare their estate planning documents.

Try it now

We have given a great deal of thought to the privacy and security of your information. Our business relies on it. Please try it for yourself. We have worked with some of the top estate planning lawyers in South Africa to bring you the best online Will service available anywhere today. We can assure you that our service can help you prepare a professional quality Will. Try us out, and then decide.

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.
Click. Print. Sign.

It's really that easy.

LegalWills.co.za Scales Logo

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.

pencil
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.

folder
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
 

Frequently Asked Questions

There is absolutely no legal requirement to use the services of a lawyer to prepare your Will.

The law requires that the Will is written on a piece of paper and then signed by you in the presence of two witnesses. Once it is signed and witnessed, it becomes a legal Last Will and Testament.

If you need legal advice, you should secure the services of a lawyer, but most people do not need legal advice to prepare a Will. Especially if they are using a service like the one at LegalWills.co.za.
When you write your Will with a lawyer, you are paying for their training, so that if you needed custom clauses written for unique situations, they would probably be able to do this for you. However, most Wills do not require unique new clauses to be written, and the vast majority of Wills are a compilation of known legal "precedents".

Most lawyers use Will writing software to prepare Wills, and we use that exact same software, but give you direct access to it. You should really be asking why a lawyer charges R2,000 for about an hour's work.

If you have unusual circumstances, such as a child with special needs, then you may need legal advice. But for the vast majority, you would be paying premium rates for legal advice that you don't need.

There are no other payments required to prepare your legal Will. You can have a legal Will in your hands for R499 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 R999. 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.

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 R99, but again, most people do not need this option.

We also offer other services like MyLifeLocker™ 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 R499. 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. R119 will give you one additional year of updates, or you can purchase multiple years: 5 years at R299, 10 years at R399, 25 years at R799 (R32 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 R119 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.)

Our answer is different depending on what you are comparing us to.

The service at LegalWills.co.za is significantly better than a blank form Will kit that you can buy on Amazon or WHSmiths. These blank kits do not check for errors, allow you to do things you are legally not allowed to do, and rarely cover backup scenarios. They are actually the most difficult way to prepare a well drafted Will.

We provide the same quality documents as an estate planning lawyer – often word-for-word identical, because we use the same software that they use. We've just adapted it to make it easier to understand, and given you direct access to it. Therefore, you can create a lawyer grade Will, but from the comfort of your own home at less than a tenth of the price.

When compared to other online services, we have honest, up-front pricing that is better than any equivalent service. We also believe that we have the highest quality service online today. In all the time that we have been in business, never once has one of our Wills had an issue going through the probate process. We also offer best-in-class phone and email support if you get stuck.

Some other highlights:

  • Help text every step of the way.   Every page of our service has additional help text to answer your questions. If you get stuck, send us an email and we can help.

  • Create your Will from anywhere at any time.   Our service works on any computer, phone or tablet. Which means you can create or update your Will in the middle of the night in Timbuktu if you need to.

  • Unlimited updates.   If you write your Will with a lawyer, it could be out of date by the time you get home. You don't face that issue with LegalWills.co.za. If your circumstances change, simply login to your account, update your document, and sign your new Will. There is no charge for updates as long as you maintain a membership.

  • Professional reviews by a lawyer.   Our service works for the vast majority of situations, but on occasion people have unusual circumstances and need the reassurance of a legal professional's eye. We offer this as an option.

  • Our other services.   We don't just do Will writing. We offer a complete portfolio of services that will help you to plan your estate. We have the LifeLocker® executor tool, that allows you to document all of your personal details and assets, and MyVault™ that lets you upload important files. Together with our Keyholder® mechanism, you can be assured that the right information gets into the right hands at the right time (and not before).

  • Privacy and security.   We do not store any information as plain text. We do not store Wills in our database. All of your information is encrypted on our servers. Nobody can access it except you and your designated Keyholders® at the appropriate time. Furthermore, we do not share, trade or sell any of your data with third parties whatsoever.

Let Us Answer Your Questions

See All Questions
Creating a Will and other legal documents doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. We have hundreds of articles that simplify the process.
Browse Our Blog
Feel free to contact us during office hours, or get answers instantly with our online chatbot.
Contact Us