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Total Legal Review 2023

Founded in 2003 and accredited by the Better Business Bureau, Total Legal offers a host of self-guided legal products at very low prices along with low-cost attorney support. Their online will template costs only $19.95, while a Total Legal subscription will cost you only $89.95 per year. While some of their features are still works in progress, this is an incredibly affordable estate planning solution.

Have you tried this company? How would you rate your experience?

Services:

  • Last will and testament
  • Living will
  • Medical Power of Attorney
  • Financial Power of Attorney

Availability map:

Available in Hawaii Available in Hawaii Available in Hawaii Available in Hawaii Available in Hawaii Available in New York Available in Vermont Available in New Hampshire Available in Maine Available in Massachusetts Available in Connecticut Available in Rhode Island Available in New Jersey Available in Connecticut Available in Maryland Available in Oregon Available in Washington Available in Idaho Available in Wyoming Available in Montana Available in North Dakota Available in South Dakota Available in Nebraska Available in Kansas Available in Oklahoma Available in Texas Available in Minnesota Available in Iowa Available in Wisconsin Available in Missouri Available in Arkansas Not available in Louisiana Available in Mississippi Available in Alabama Available in Tennessee Available in Georgia Available in Florida Available in South Carolina Available in North Carolina Available in Illinois Available in Michigan Available in Indiana Available in Kentucky Available in Ohio Available in Virginia Available in Pennsylvania Available in West Virginia Available in Nevada Available in Alaska Available in Alaska Available in Arizona Available in New Mexico Available in Utah Available in Colorado Available in California

Value for Money:

Average

Official website:

Overall rating81.2%
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-25
Updated Aug 09, 2023
Not available via OWM

Pros and cons

  • Great help center
  • Affordable subscription cost
  • Discounted legal services
  • Limited set of will-related documents
  • Limited support options
  • Living trusts are not available
 

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1
Overall rating 97.1
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
Oldest Will Making Service
Services
  • Last will and testament
  • Living will
  • Living trust
  • Medical Power of Attorney
  • Financial Power of Attorney
  • + 3 more
  • Will Codicil
  • Amendment to Living Trust
  • Revocation of Living Trust
Pros and cons
  • Detailed forms and instructions
  • Includes 35 documents+2 books
  • Can use for multiple people
  • Regular updates as laws change
2
Overall rating 98.6
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
Best Selection of Features
Services
  • Last will and testament
  • Living will
  • Living trust
  • Medical Power of Attorney
  • Financial Power of Attorney
  • + 4 more
  • Will Codicil
  • Amendment to Living Trust
  • Revocation of Living Trust
  • Pet Guardian Trust
Pros and cons
  • Detailed final documents
  • Intuitive user interface
  • Easy to ask a lawyer or support
  • Good form builder
3
Overall rating 95.1
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-75
Great Value for Money
Services
  • Last will and testament
  • Living will
  • Medical Power of Attorney
  • Financial Power of Attorney
Pros and cons
  • Customizable will template
  • Easy to update long-term
  • Free unlimired updates for one year
  • 30-day money-back

Editorial Notes

Total Legal provides solutions for your family and your business. You can create high-quality legal documents right on the company’s website. You don’t need to purchase and install any will maker software. Just complete an online interview, print your document or receive it by mail, and follow the instructions to sign them in your state. For your family, you can create a will, a power of attorney, or a living will. For your business, you can file LLC forms yourself or have TotalLegal file the paperwork for you. In addition, you can create quitclaim deeds, promissory notes, rental agreements, and other legal forms for various purposes.

Credibility: Is Total Legal legit?

Established in 2000
Registered in Bellevue, WA
Google Rating
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-50
BBB grade A+ (Accredited)

Total Legal was established in 2000 in Bellevue, WA. Currently, the company offers its services to the residents of all states, except Louisiana. Total Legal is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and has an exceptional A+ rating. On Google, Total Legals is rated 4.5 stars out of 5, which is also considered a very good rating.

Is Total Legal safe? Is Total Legal secure?

Any information that you enter on the Total Legal website, whether it is personal or payment data, is transmitted securely following encryption protocols and stored in your personal account, protected by a password that you choose when you register at their website. These practices make Total Legal safe and secure because they are up to the industry standards.

Total Legal Services and Pricing

Below are the services that are offered by Total Legal at www.totallegal.com, which can be summarized into three categories.

As we compare online will makers, we can say that Total Legal is cheap. Not only is $14.95 for a living will incredibly competitive, but their breakdown in prices is clear as day. The subscription service is also of great value, as you can get a 1-year subscription to Total Legal for just $89, which comes out to roughly $7.4 per month.

Services one-doc Package Subscription TotalLegal Plan
Last will and testament $19.95
Living will $14.95
Medical Power of Attorney $19.95
Financial Power of Attorney $19.95
$89.95 / y

Estate Planning Documents

Estate Planning Documents offered include wills, living wills, and power of attorney.

Business Products

Incorporation and LLC formation

Other Documents

There’s a wide variety of other documents, such as name change, bill of sale, warranty deed, plus more.

Attorney Support

You can get free and discounted (usually 55% off) legal services from attorneys provided by Legal Club of America. Whether it’s a legal name change, a simple divorce or a regular incorporation, you’re getting better than half price off a wide range of legal services.

Total Legal: Strengths

  • Good Value – Total Legal is not only an affordable option because of its low prices, but it separates each legal document into a different payment, meaning you can keep costs down if you only want X, Y and Z. For example, a living will is $14.95 and a total yearly plan is under $90 — these are some of the most competitive rates on the market.
  • User-friendly Will Software – TotalLegal will software is very easy to use. At the bottom of each section, there is informaiton that clarifies the tedious process of will-making.
  • Transparent – The Total Legal website may appear outdated and simplistic, but it’s conducive to a very clear and transparent company. The prices are super easy to find, as are the choices the customer has and the help center.

Total Legal: Weaknesses

  • User Interface – Whilst the website benefits from being simplistic, the questionnaire and actual will completion is a little too outdated. The text is small and difficult to read, and some sections aren’t clear whether or not they’re optional. It seems like this is a choice, to target towards an older audience, but it doesn’t actually make it easy for them.
  • Paid legal support – When purchasing a single document, Total Legal only provides limited phone and email support from a non-attorney, meaning it’s only technical issues that can be solved. Subscription users benefit from attorney support, which is useful. Whilst this is far from unreasonable, it’s still a limitation.
  • Limited for wills – In the interest of reviewing Total Legal’s will services, it’s important to point out there are only three will-related documents available. The company may have a wide range of other documents, but it’s not as comprehensive as many competitors for wills.

Compare Total Legal

Payment structure Flat fee
Free trial No
Guarantees 30-day money-back guarantee
States covered All except LA
Attorney Support Yes
Attorney Cost Free will updates, Will with trust - $250

Trying to find a suitable online will making service can be a real challenge, as there are over a dozen companies offering these services in the United States today. All of them have different pricing policies, features, documents, rules, etc. So most people spend hours comparing different companies in an attempt to find the best offer. But we wanted to make our readers’ lives a little easier by comparing each company to its competitors based on several crucial criteria.

1-4 Docs 38.9% 5-7 Docs 38.9% 8+ Docs 22.2%
Number of documents offered by different will makers
Total Legal offers 1 to 4 documents

Number of Documents Offered

Total Legal customers can use the service to create four estate planning documents, including a last will and testament, living will, medical power of attorney, and financial power of attorney. While this selection of forms is enough for people in need of a basic estate plan, it doesn’t include several important documents such as a living trust or a pet power of attorney. This means that if you’re looking for a more comprehensive estate planning solution, you may need to supplement Total Legal with another service.

Subscription or one-doc 27.8% Subscription only 33.3% Package only 16.7% Package or one-doc 16.7% One-doc only 5.6%
Payment structure offered by different will makers
Total Legal offers subscription or one-doc payment options

Payment Structure

Total Legal offers its customers two convenient payment structures. Users can purchase individual documents, or they can opt for a subscription which includes all four documents. In addition, this online will maker offers annual subscriptions. All in all, this selection of payment structures ensures that every customer can find a suitable option that makes the most financial sense in their situation.

Money-back guarantee 61.1% No guarantee 38.9%
Availability of money-back guarantees offered by different will makers
Total Legal offers a money-back guarantee

Guarantees

If you choose Total Legal for your estate planning needs, you won’t need to stress about potentially having to fight the company for a refund if something doesn’t work out. Total Legal provides a money-back guarantee to all customers, so you can request a refund within 30 days of purchase if you’re not happy with the documents you create on their website.

Yes 27.8% No 50% By referral 22.2%
Availability of attorney support offered by different will makers
Total Legal offers attorney support

Attorney Support

Total Legal customers can get discounted attorney support from lawyers who are part of the Legal Club of America. The company’s subscription customers usually get a 55% discount on legal services. While this is a great deal compared to will-makers that don’t offer attorney support, you may still be better off choosing one of the estate planning services that offer completely free legal consultations to their customers. You should also keep in mind that discount attorney support is not offered to customers who only purchase individual documents.

Limited-time 38.9% Unlimited 38.9% Until subscription ends 22.2%
Free document update period offered by different will makers
Total Legal offers a limited-time free document update period

Free Document Update Period

Total Legal gives all its customers a free document update period, although its duration depends on the type of service you purchase. If you buy individual documents from the company, you will be able to amend them free of charge for two months after the purchase date. However, if you opt for an annual or monthly subscription, you will be able to update your forms only for as long as your subscription remains active. If you want to enjoy a longer free document update period, you can also consider other online will-making services, some of which offer free lifetime document changes.

No 83.3% Yes 16.7%
Phone app availability offered by different will makers
Total Legal does not have a phone app

Phone App Availability

If you want to create your estate plan on a smartphone or tablet, Total Legal may not be the best option, as this company is one of the many online will makers which doesn’t have a smartphone app. However, you can still access their website and fill out all the forms using a mobile browser, although this will likely be less convenient than using an app. Alternatively, you can opt for one of the other will-making services that have Android and iOS applications.

Ease of Use

Instructions Yes
Output format PDF, Word, Mail, email
Turnaround Time Instant
PlatformWeb
Updates Limited-time

As touched on above, Total Legal is not the most user-friendly company. Their website is simplistic, but the will-making program is too outdated. It’s quite difficult to read the small, old fashioned font used along with some sections not being clear whether they’re mandatory or optional.

Total Wills is certainly easy enough to use for most average users, but there’s a lot of room for improvement. Fortunately, the service isn’t usually catering the complex legal situations (i.e. overseas digital assets), so suffices. However, those looking for a slicker experience or more fool-proof questionnaires may want to opt for a different company.

Customer Review Analysis

We wanted to compare Total Legal to other companies that offer online estate planning services. To get a sense of customer satisfaction, we looked through a large number of reviews found on the internet. We grouped these reviews into three categories: positive, negative, and mixed. Mixed reviews had a combination of both positive and negative comments or were neutral in nature. Positive and negative reviews were those that clearly demonstrated a positive or negative opinion about the service.

Distribution of Total Legal reviews compared to industry-wide average

After analyzing all the data, we were able to conclude that Total Legal’s customer satisfaction is better than the industry average, as the proportion of positive reviews for their services is higher than the industry standard. On the other hand, the number of negative reviews for Total Legal’s services is significantly lower than the average for other companies in the field. We did not discover any mixed reviews of this online estate planning firm. Overall, this suggests that Total Legal’s customers are generally happy with the company's services.

Total Legal
Industry Average
95%
90%
Positive, %
4%
8%
Negative, %
0%
2%
Mixed, %
Data was compiled from 1938 reviews about 17 different companies across 7 review sites. Total Legal had 220 reviews

Most frequently given reasons for liking or disliking Total Legal

After that, we aimed to determine why some customers had a positive experience with Total Legal, while others did not. Therefore, we collected the most frequent reasons reviewers gave for liking or disliking their experience with the company. A significant number of reviewers praised the simplicity, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness of Total Legal's services. In fact, the percentage of people who found the price of the company’s services reasonable and their document creation process speedy and convenient was much higher than the industry standard. On the other hand, the few people who were not pleased with Total Legal mentioned that the service was difficult to use, hard to cancel, or that the company’s customer service was unresponsive as reasons for their dissatisfaction.

Positive
Total Legal
Industry Average
37%
32%
Easy to use
19%
13%
Quick and easy process
12%
8%
Reasonable price
Negative
Total Legal
Industry Average
1%
1%
Difficult to use
0%
2%
Unexpected costs
0%
1%
Difficult to cancel
Data was compiled from 3611 apparent reasons from 1938 reviews. Total Legal data had 408 reasons in 220 reviews

Distribution of reviews by service type

Total Legal offers a wide variety of legal documents in different niches in addition to estate-planning forms. Thus, when possible, we recorded whether reviews referenced Total Legal’s estate-related or non-estate-related services. We found that only a relatively small percentage of reviewers clearly referenced estate-related documents, while a large portion of reviewers didn’t make it clear which Total Legal services they used.

Total Legal
Industry Average
13%
42%
Estate related
21%
13%
Non estate related
65%
44%
Unknown
Data was compiled from 1938 reviews about 17 different companies across 7 review sites. Total Legal had 220 reviews

Unique Functions Offered by Total Legal

Below are some unique functions offered by the online legal company Total Legal:

Revisions

Not all online will services offer free revisions, but Total Legal most certainly does for the first 60 days. If you’re a subscriber, though, you can benefit from revisions whenever you like until your subscription, if ever, runs out.

Help Center

Again, whilst the website is basic, it has a great Help Center page. All resources are columnized and divided into headers, with a good search function too. Everything is on that one page, making it helpful in being helpful.

FAQ

Do I need to purchase and install software on my computer?
No, you don’t. You will fill in all the forms online and print them out or request delivery.
Can I make updates to my will? Is there a charge?
You can make free revisions for the first 60 days. If you subscribe to Total Legal services, you can make free updates for as long as you are a subscriber.
Can I start my LLC with Total Legal?
Yes, Total Legal has all the forms necessary to register your LLC. You can do it yourself for free or choose Total Legal to do it for you for a fee.
Are Total Legal document templates created by attorneys?
Yes, all TotalLegal document templates are created by attorneys in all 50 states.
Can I get my money back if I am not satisfied with the service?
Yes, Total Legal has a 30-day money-back satisfaction guarantee. All you need to do is contact their customer support during business hours. However, business services are not included in the guarantee.

Bottom Line

First and foremost, Total Legal is a legit online will maker that offers fantastic value. It’s super cheap and the company gives its customers access to real attorney services. There are lots of different services for users with business and personal needs.

However, there are only three estate planning documents offered on the platform. It feels a little bit like Total Legal is spreading themselves thin instead of niching down. Total Legal reviews show that this is a reliable company with some great value and comprehensive support, but it’s not going to be a good fit if you need a large selection of real estate planning documents or want to create a living trust.

Ratings

Credibility
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-75
Services
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-0
Usability
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-50
Features
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-0

Total
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-100
  • star-25
Not available via OWM
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