Willful Competitive Intelligence & Landscape

Willful (willful.co) is a Canadian online platform that simplifies the creation of legal wills and powers of attorney. Founded by Erin Bury and Kevin Oulds, the company offers an affordable, convenient, and easy way for Canadians to manage their estate planning, addressing the statistic that 56% of Canadian adults do not have a will. Users can complete a customized legal will in approximately 20 minutes by answering simple questions, review their choices before payment, and make unlimited free updates as their life circumstances change.

Willful also provides detailed instructions for printing and signing documents to ensure legal validity.

Willful's core product is its online will creation service, which includes legal wills and powers of attorney. The platform targets all Canadian adults needing estate planning, offering individual plans and Willful for Work, an employee benefit program for businesses to provide estate planning services to their teams.

Willful prioritizes data privacy and document security, employing top-tier encryption and regular audits. The company's commitment to accessibility and ease of use is further demonstrated through its comprehensive Learn Centre, which demystifies complex estate planning topics through articles and guides.

The mission of Willful is to make estate planning simple and accessible, ensuring that documents are always aligned with user needs and evolving legal standards. The company continually audits and enhances its estate planning documents with the help of estate lawyers.

Willful has garnered significant trust, serving over 500,000 Canadians and earning high ratings on platforms like Trustpilot and Google. It has also been featured on Dragons’ Den, securing a $750,000 investment to further its mission.

Willful provides robust support through its support center, email, website chat, and phone appointments.

Willful (willful.co) offers an accessible and affordable solution for Canadians to create legal wills and estate planning documents online. The platform emphasizes a guided, step-by-step experience, allowing users to complete customized legal documents from home in as little as 20 minutes. A key feature across all plans is the one-time payment model, which includes free unlimited updates for life, ensuring documents remain current as life circumstances change [https://www.willful.co/pricing][https://www.willful.co/llm-info][https://www.willful.co/blog/which-willful-plan]. Additionally, Willful provides a 30-day money-back guarantee for peace of mind [https://www.willful.co/pricing].

The pricing structure for Willful includes three main plans, catering to different individual and family needs, with options available for all 10 provinces in Canada [https://support.willful.co/en/articles/14011162-finding-out-if-willful-works-for-your-situation]. The basic "Will" plan, priced at $129, includes a personalized legal will, the ability to appoint liquidators, tutors, and legatees, and free unlimited updates [https://www.willful.co/en-qc/pricing]. For more comprehensive planning, the "Complete estate planning for individuals" plan is available for $199, which also includes a last will and testament and access to multiple will registries, valued at $40 [https://www.willful.co/pricing].

While specific details on all three plans and recent pricing changes beyond these examples require a deeper dive into the detailed comparison tables on their support center [https://support.willful.co/en/articles/14011165-comparing-willful-plans-pricing], Willful consistently promotes its user-friendly interface and transparent pricing without hidden costs, contrasting with competitors that might offer lower starting prices but include optional paid add-ons [https://www.willful.co/learn/willful-vs-legal-wills]. All plans include access to live support via phone, email, or chat, emphasizing their commitment to guiding users through the estate planning process [https://www.willful.co/blog/which-willful-plan].

Willful.co, a prominent Canadian online will platform, demonstrates a strategic approach to hiring and team growth, aligning with its mission to simplify estate planning across Canada. The company actively seeks individuals to join its team, as indicated by the "See open positions" link on its About Us page [https://www.willful.co/about]. This suggests a continuous effort to expand its workforce to support its operations and ambitious goals.

While specific recent hiring trends or layoffs are not explicitly detailed, Willful's growth is evident through its expanding services and partnerships. The company has extended its online will services to residents in all Canadian provinces, including Ontario, Alberta, BC, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, PEI, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan [https://www.willful.co/]. This nationwide expansion would naturally necessitate an increase in personnel to manage legal intricacies, customer support, and operational logistics. Furthermore, Willful's collaboration with major institutions like Scotiabank and Tangerine [https://www.willful.co/blog/scotiabank-partnership][https://www.willful.co/blog/willful-product-updates-june-2025], along with its Willful for Work program for employers [https://www.willful.co/work], points to a growing business model requiring robust teams in sales, partnerships, and client services.

The emphasis on "certified estate planning experts" and "live support Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM ET" [http://willful.co/professionals/advisors] suggests a strong focus on customer service and expert guidance, indicating a need for skilled professionals in these areas. The company's blog also features stories from individuals navigating estate planning, implying a content creation and marketing team [https://www.willful.co/blog]. The lack of any mention of layoffs in the provided information, coupled with continuous product updates [https://www.willful.co/blog/willful-product-updates-june-2025] and expansion into new markets and partnerships, signals a stable and growing company committed to providing accessible and comprehensive online estate planning solutions for Canadians.

Willful (willful.co) has established a strong financial foundation through strategic fundraising and an acquisition, positioning itself as a leading online will platform in Canada. The company successfully raised $1.1 million in investments by June 2020, closing its seed financing round [https://www.willful.co/blog/year-in-review]. A significant part of their early funding came from a notable appearance on Dragons' Den, where co-founders Erin Bury and Kevin Oulds initially sought $500,000 for 5% equity but ultimately secured a $750,000 investment from investors, including Canadian tech entrepreneur Michele Romanow [https://www.willful.co/blog/as-seen-on-dragons-den-willful]. This investment helped Willful further its mission to provide accessible, affordable, and convenient online will creation for Canadians [https://www.willful.co/blog/our-experience-dragons-den].

In terms of financial health and offerings, Willful provides various pricing tiers for its online will services, ranging from a one-time payment of $129 to $349, and bundled packages up to $799 or $918, indicating a diverse revenue model [https://willful.co/]. The company emphasizes affordability and convenience, offering free, unlimited updates to documents and a 30-day money-back guarantee, which likely contributes to customer acquisition and retention [https://willful.co/].

Willful has also expanded its reach through significant partnerships, including a collaboration with Scotiabank, one of Canada's largest banks, to empower clients with estate planning tools [https://www.willful.co/blog/scotiabank-partnership].

Demonstrating a commitment to growth and market consolidation, Willful acquired Ottawa-based online platform WillowBee [https://www.willful.co/blog/willful-acquires-willowbee]. This acquisition, announced in an unspecified year, allowed Willful to expand its customer base and reinforce its mission of providing comprehensive end-of-life planning tools, as WillowBee had also been helping thousands of Canadians create legal documents since its 2017 launch. These strategic moves, combined with continuous product updates and legal compliance, such as partnering with DocuSign for a digital will pilot program in BC approved by the Law Society of BC, underscore Willful's proactive approach to maintaining its market position and financial viability in the competitive online estate planning sector [https://www.willful.co/blog/willful-first-digital-will-in-canadian-history][https://www.willful.co/blog/willful-product-updates-june-2025].

Willful (willful.co) actively engages in various event participations, including hosting webinars and supporting provincial initiatives, to promote the importance of estate planning in Canada. The company's CEO, Erin Bury, leads educational events such as the "Estate Planning 101 for Canadians" webinar, which debunks myths and clarifies the necessity of a will. These live, virtual events provide an accessible platform for Canadians to ask questions and learn about fundamental estate planning principles.

Willful also aligns with significant public awareness campaigns like "Make a Will Month" in November and "Make a Will Week," a British Columbia government initiative held annually from October 4-10. These campaigns are crucial for encouraging Canadians to create or update their wills, addressing the fact that a large percentage of adults, particularly millennials, do not have an up-to-date legal will. By participating in and promoting these initiatives, Willful reinforces its commitment to improving estate literacy and accessibility across Canada.

Beyond educational webinars, Willful demonstrates its community involvement by frequently featuring various charities such as the SickKids Foundation and Interval House, often dedicating a month or two to highlight their work. Furthermore, Willful offers a unique "Digital Execution appointment" for BC residents, a paid virtual witnessing service, underscoring its adaptability to regional legal advancements in online will signing. The company's "Willful for Work" program also positions estate planning as a vital employee benefit, indicating participation in B2B engagements and potentially corporate wellness events.