Independent comparison checked 3 August 2026
LegalWills.co.za is a paid self-directed document platform with an optional lawyer-review add-on. Wills & Trust is a South African intake and referral business that must identify the independent provider who will perform any actual will drafting.
Neither route is automatically better. The right question is whether the final document, professional review, signing support, original-will custody, update terms and executor choice fit your facts.
Wills & Trust is independent of LegalWills.co.za and PartingWishes Inc. LegalWills, MyWill and related names belong to their respective owner. No competitor logo, rating or paid endorsement is used here.
The short answer
You want to work through an online questionnaire yourself, are comfortable checking the result against your wishes, and can print, execute and store the signed original correctly. Its public MyWill page also lists guardians, executors, trusts for minors and blended-family support.
Your facts require legal interpretation, an interview, advice on competing rights, or coordinated trust, tax, business, foreign-asset or estate-liquidity work. Wills & Trust can qualify and refer the enquiry but is not itself the attorney or drafting provider.
Fact-by-fact comparison
The LegalWills column reports its own current product pages and terms. The Wills & Trust column reports this site's legal terms, not older marketing promises that have not yet been evidenced.
| Question | LegalWills.co.za | Wills & Trust route |
|---|---|---|
| Service model | Online platform operated under terms with PartingWishes Inc. The user completes the document workflow. | Marketing, intake, factual qualification and referral. An independent provider must perform the actual drafting or advice. |
| MyWill price | R499 including taxes on the public services page checked 3 August 2026. | The final drafting price and included scope are not confirmed on this comparison draft. Obtain the responsible provider's written scope before proceeding. |
| Legal advice | Its terms say LegalWills is not a law firm and documents are completed without a lawyer or legal advice. A separate lawyer-review option is publicly listed at R999. | Wills & Trust does not provide legal advice. Any legal advice must come from an identified independent attorney under a separate engagement. |
| Updates | The initial price includes one year of unlimited updates. Its comparison page lists optional continued access from R119 per year. Confirm current checkout terms. | Amendment period, number of updates and any charge are not yet stated in a provider-approved written offer on this page. |
| Print and sign | The user downloads, prints and signs with witnesses. The electronic copy is not the signed operative original. | The final provider must explain execution and confirm whether signing supervision, collection or delivery is included. |
| Physical original | LegalWills says it does not store physical documents. The user remains responsible for safekeeping. | No physical collection or storage promise is made here until the custodian, location, release process, duration and cost are disclosed in writing. |
| Executor choice | The MyWill page says users can appoint an executor, joint executors, alternates and replacements. A 2023 press release also describes an optional Legatus Trust route. | The user must be told whether any executor nomination is required, optional or linked to a free-drafting offer. This comparison draft does not assume the answer. |
| Trust and family features | Its current MyWill page lists guardians, trusts for minor beneficiaries and blended-family support. | Trust or complex-family work must be scoped with the named legal and tax professionals. Intake support alone is not trust advice. |
| Governing terms | The public terms identify PartingWishes Inc. and select Ontario, Canada law for the website agreement. | Wills & Trust is K2023120042 (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd. Each referred provider has its own South African engagement and regulatory responsibility. |
Price note: LegalWills pages checked on the same date showed different optional print-and-mail prices, R99 on one page and R149 in the FAQ. This comparison does not select one. Confirm the amount displayed at checkout.
Marketing page versus contract
LegalWills markets MyWill as lawyer-approved or lawyer-grade. Its terms add an important contractual distinction: PartingWishes Inc. is not a law firm, does not offer legal advice, and says the member completes the documents without a lawyer or legal advice.
That does not make the platform unsuitable. It tells you what you are buying: document automation and support, with a separately priced lawyer-review option if selected. If you need a legal opinion, ask who the reviewing attorney is, what jurisdiction and facts the review covers, and whether you receive written advice.
No blurred provider identity
Wills & Trust collects and qualifies enquiries, schedules conversations and refers users to independent providers. Its terms say it is not a law firm, financial-services provider, executor, estate administrator or tax practice.
The drafting provider must be identified before the service starts. That provider must take responsibility for its own document, advice, fees, turnaround, storage, professional standing and complaints route.
Free alternative to LegalWills
Someone searching for a free alternative to LegalWills should receive a full commercial explanation, not just a R0 headline. Until the responsible partner confirms the following terms, this draft page does not present Wills & Trust as a verified free service.
Which interview, draft, legal review, revisions, signing help and storage services cost R0?
Must the user nominate a particular executor, and what fees may the estate later pay?
Is insurance or estate cover offered, by whom, and does declining it affect the will?
Who stores the signed original, for how long, and how can the testator or executor retrieve it?
How many changes are included, for what period, and must every replacement be signed again?
How does a user cancel, collect the original, withdraw marketing consent and request data deletion?
The same law applies to both routes
A free will, paid online will and attorney-drafted will all need to comply with the Wills Act. The testator must sign as required, two or more competent witnesses must be present together and sign as required, and special formalities apply to signing by mark or by another person.
The Master's guidance says the signed original must be kept safe. A downloaded PDF, unsigned account copy or photograph does not replace correct execution and an available original.
Do not force complex facts into a simple route
Blended families, maintenance duties, adoption, disputed relationships, customary or Muslim marriages, or an intention to exclude a spouse or child.
Minor children, disability, addiction, insolvency, special-needs planning or a trust with material trustee discretion.
Companies, partnerships, trusts, loan accounts, co-owned property, foreign assets, crypto custody or uncertain beneficial ownership.
An estate dominated by property or business interests, major debt, suretyships, tax exposure or a likely cash shortfall.
Family dispute, capacity concern, undue-influence risk, previous wills, handwritten changes or a likely challenge.
A will that must align with an antenuptial contract, trust deed, shareholder agreement, policy nomination, pension nomination or foreign will.
Compare the whole lifecycle
A useful comparison follows the will from first interview to the day the executor needs the signed original. Cheap or free drafting has little value if the document no longer fits, was signed incorrectly, cannot be found or nominates an unsuitable executor.
Collect accurate family, ownership, debt and beneficiary facts.
Understand the clauses, limits, professional role and unresolved risks.
Sign the final version with compliant witnesses and formalities.
Keep the signed original safe, accessible and locatable.
Replace and re-execute after family, asset or legal changes.
The Master appoints the executor, who then applies the will in the estate process.
Personal and family data
A will questionnaire can reveal identity, relationships, assets, debts and intended beneficiaries. Read who controls the data, where it may be processed, who can access it, how long it is retained and how deletion works.
Its privacy statement says it records submitted information, provides opt-out and deletion routes, and may give a referring third party access in described circumstances. Its terms allow staff access to documents generated through the site.
Its POPIA notice describes lead intake, consent-based referral to independent providers, retention periods and access, correction, objection and deletion rights. The referred provider becomes separately responsible for its own processing.
If you request the human-guided route
Record the current will, family and estate complexity, main concern and preferred support route.
Identify the independent provider, professional role, data handoff, fees, optional products and conflicts.
The user accepts or declines the provider's own written engagement. Declining must not be disguised as a service failure.
The provider drafts and reviews within its agreed scope. The user then signs, stores and maintains the will.
Prepare before choosing
Costs and quote structure
For LegalWills, verify the MyWill price, optional lawyer review, printing, account extension and any other selected service at checkout. For the referral route, ask the named provider to separate drafting, advice, tax, trust, signing, courier, storage and amendment charges.
Executor remuneration and estate-administration expenses arise later and are not the same as a will-drafting price. Ask whether an executor nomination is optional and what fee the will records.
Understand executor fees and estate costsWho performs the work
Read the legal entity, governing terms, support role, refund route and document responsibility.
Verify the attorney's name and practising status through the Legal Practice Council. Confirm whether the attorney reviews your actual facts and final will.
Confirm the nominee, later Master appointment, security position, remuneration, conflicts, substitutes and estate-administration scope.
Evidence, not applause
This page does not present a client testimonial, review score, success rate or “best service” badge for either provider. LegalWills publishes its own customer and probate claims, but those self-reported statements are not treated here as independent proof.
Wills & Trust has not supplied verified client proof for this comparison. A future testimonial should appear only with evidence, consent, date, service scope and an explanation that results vary.
Common comparison questions
Its terms say PartingWishes Inc. is not a law firm and the standard documents are completed without a lawyer or legal advice. Its public site separately lists an optional lawyer review.
The public services page checked 3 August 2026 listed MyWill at R499 including taxes. Optional services and later account access can cost more. Confirm the live checkout before buying.
Its FAQ says it does not store physical documents. The user must preserve the correctly signed original and make its location known.
This draft does not make that claim. Wills & Trust markets a no-cost route elsewhere, but the responsible drafting provider, included scope, executor condition, optional products, storage and amendment terms must be confirmed before “free” is a fair comparison.
No rule requires the drafter to be nominated. The Master's official guidance says you do not have to appoint the person or institution drafting the will. Read each service's contractual terms and choose an executor deliberately.
Use direct legal advice when interpretation, competing rights, complex ownership, vulnerable beneficiaries, foreign assets, trusts, business succession, likely conflict or uncertainty make a standard workflow unsafe.
Compare before sharing the estate
Share only enough context to identify whether a self-directed document route or a named professional referral may fit. A representative must disclose the provider and terms before any substantive handoff.
This request does not create an attorney-client, fiduciary, tax-adviser or financial-advice relationship and does not reserve a price or turnaround.
This is a comparative information page, not legal advice, a product review based on purchased services, or an endorsement. LegalWills facts were taken from its own public pages and terms. Wills & Trust facts were taken from this site's legal terms and privacy notice. No account was purchased and no private product flow was tested.
Prices, features and terms can change. Check the live provider page and checkout. To request a factual correction, use the contact route and identify the exact statement and current source.