View source for FreeWill

{{Short description|Online legal service company}}

'''FreeWill Co''' is a company whose website, FreeWill.com, has online software which helps people write wills for free and make charitable contributions, and it reports each person's planned bequests to charities which pay subscription fees.<ref name="nyton">{{Cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Paul |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/07/your-money/online-wills.html |title=Making Wills Easier and Cheaper With Do-It-Yourself Options |date=2018-09-07 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2020-04-23 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It also helps people write [[advance healthcare directive]]s<ref name="ahcd">{{Cite web |title=What is an Advance Healthcare Directive (AHCD)? |url=https://www.freewill.com/advance-healthcare-directive |access-date=2020-08-21 |website=FreeWill |language=en}}</ref> and  [[Trust law#Estate planning|living trust]]s in California.<ref name="calif"/>

==Background==
FreeWill is a [[benefit corporation|public benefit corporation]] founded at Stanford University in 2017 by Jennifer Xia Spradling and Patrick Schmitt. It has two social missions: The first is to create access to estate planning for all individuals regardless of their backgrounds or ability to pay. The second is to make it easy for people to leave money to charity. As a public benefit corporation, they are legally obligated to pursue their social missions in addition to seeking financial return.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Write Your Legal Will Online, Free & Simple|url=https://www.freewill.com/about|access-date=2020-08-11|website=FreeWill|language=en}}</ref>

The idea originated from Schmitt's work with the [[Democratic National Committee]] in fundraising. After working on his own estate planning, he figured that a website could be created that could simplify the process and that doing so could help raise money for charitable causes.<ref name="forb">{{Cite news|last=Wilson|first=Alexandra|title=The Will To Give: This End-Of-Life Platform Is Facilitating $1.1 Billion In Charitable Donations|language=en|work=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrawilson1/2020/03/13/the-will-to-give-this-end-of-life-platform-is-facilitating-11-billion-in-charitable-donations/|access-date=2022-05-23|url-access=limited}}</ref>

''Town & Country'' magazine ranked the founding of FreeWill as one of the top 50 Philanthropic efforts of 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-05-22|title=Meet the T&C 50: The Top Philanthropists of 2019|url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/g27496997/top-50-philanthropists-2019/?slide=37|access-date=2022-05-23|website=Town & Country|language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208000630/https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/g27496997/top-50-philanthropists-2019/?slide=37 |archive-date=2021-02-08 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Business model==
Charities pay a fee to FreeWill to have the charity's name included in the software, and they receive reports of the name, address, assets, and planned bequest for each donor who agrees.<ref name="yahf">{{Cite news |last=Guzman |first=Zack |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/startup-lets-write-will-free-donating-charity-171230473.html |title=This startup lets you write a will for free by donating to charity |date=2018-10-16 |work=Yahoo Finance |access-date=2020-04-23 |language=en-US}}</ref> Donors are not required to leave money to charity.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Write Your Legal Will Online, Free & Simple|url=https://www.freewill.com/nonprofits|access-date=2020-08-11|website=FreeWill|language=en}}</ref>

The company's products include wills, durable financial power of attorney, [[IRA required minimum distributions#Lifetime distributions|qualified charitable distributions]], [[Fundraising#Individual donors|stock donations]].<ref name="nyton"/><ref name="pinsker"/> and [[Advance healthcare directive|living wills]] (also known as advance healthcare directives or healthcare power of attorney).<ref name="ahcd"/> FreeWill offers a living trust only in California.<ref name="calif">{{Cite web|title=Write Your Legal Will Online, Free & Simple|url=https://www.freewill.com/revocable-living-trusts|access-date=2020-08-11|website=FreeWill|language=en}}</ref>

After entering all will information, users have options to download the will, get more information, or see a lawyer, in which case the site offers the American Bar Association directory of all lawyers.

==Market==
As of June 2021, 295,000 people have prepared wills on the platform, 19% have included bequests to charities, and bequests average $111,000. The planned bequests total $3 billion. The largest numbers of donations<ref name="forb"/>
have been for the [[American Red Cross]],<ref name="red">{{Cite web |url=https://redcrosslegacy.org/make-plan/getting-started |title=Getting Started|website=redcrosslegacy.org |access-date=2020-04-27}}</ref>
[[United Way]],<ref name="uw">{{Cite web |url=https://www.uwwesternct.org/freewill |title=United Way of Western Connecticut |website=www.uwwesternct.org |access-date=2020-04-27}}</ref> 
[[Defenders of Wildlife]]<ref name="dw">{{Cite web |url=https://defenders.org/planned-giving/gifts-your-will-or-trust |title=Gifts from Your Will or Trust |website=Defenders of Wildlife |language=en |access-date=2020-04-27}}</ref>
and [[Disabled American Veterans]].<ref name="dav">{{Cite magazine|title=Give beyond Your Years |date=March 2020 |url=https://www.dav.org/wp-content/uploads/Magazine_2020_MarApr.pdf |magazine=DAV Magazine |page=37 |access-date=2020-04-27}}</ref><ref name="forb" />
The average user is 57 years old.<ref name="pinsker">{{Cite news |last=Pinsker |first=Beth |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-wills-idUSKBN21E2GX |title=Your Money: The one document Americans need now - Power of attorney |date=2020-03-27 |work=Reuters |access-date=2020-04-23 |language=en}}</ref>

==Privacy==
FreeWill is not a law firm and does not have an attorney-client relationship with customers. Privacy statements let the company store information on assets, children bequests, medical and religious preferences and use them to target ads and fundraising appeals.<ref name="fpriv">{{Cite web |url=https://www.freewill.com/privacy |title=Privacy Statement |date=2020-04-13 |website=FreeWill |language=en |access-date=2020-04-21}} "interest-based advertising;... organizations and their planned giving consultants to facilitate and report donations"</ref>

FreeWill says it uses modern security protocols.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Write Your Legal Will Online, Free & Simple|url=https://www.freewill.com/security|access-date=2020-08-11|website=FreeWill|language=en}}</ref> They acknowledge that information can escape in security breaches, for which they do not accept liability.<ref name="fpriv"/>

==Dispute resolution==
FreeWill disclaims liability for errors and omissions in their software; they also note that laws change rapidly.<ref name="tos">{{Cite web |url=https://www.freewill.com/terms |title=Terms of Service |date=2019-09-19 |website=FreeWill |language=en |access-date=2020-04-27}}</ref> If people nevertheless have disputes with the company, the users and company agree to use small claims courts or individual arbitration in New York City under "Commercial Arbitration Rules that contemplate in-person hearings."<ref name="tos"/> The company's offices are in New York City,<ref name="angel">{{Cite web |title=FreeWill, Raising a million dollars a day for charity |url=https://angel.co/company/freewill-co |website=angel.co |access-date=2020-05-14}}</ref> and it is incorporated in Delaware.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Freewill Co. · 300 W 57th Street 40th Floor, New York, New York 10019 |url=http://opendatany.com/corporation.php?id=5372642 |website=opendatany.com |access-date=2020-05-14}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Online companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Online legal services]]
[[Category:Legal organizations based in the United States]]
[[Category:American legal websites]]
[[Category:Companies based in New York City]]