Read what MNers thought about Beyond’s online will writing service

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This is the feedback thread for the users that tested out Beyond’s online will writing service.
This was open to MNers with at least one child who live in England or Wales.

Here’s what Beyond have to say:
“Without a will, the state determines what happens with your kids and assets, whether you’re married or not. So, a will is vital for parents, and Beyond make it simple and affordable to get it sorted online. In 15 minutes, you can protect your family with a legally-binding will - without ever having to leave the house. It’s perfect for busy mums and dads. Trusted by 1,000s of UK parents, Beyond’s easily updateable online will service lets you protect your family, choose guardians for children and pets and leave personal messages for your loved ones.”

Testers please answer the following questions:

• Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?
• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?
• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?
• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?
• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

Selected testers will be required to leave their feedback on a thread on Mumsnet and fill in a short survey. Everyone who leaves the required feedback will be entered into a prize draw where 3 x MNers will win a £100 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw.
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

• Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

Yes, very self explanatory. Short simple explanations at each stage.

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

Yes definitely.

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Yes it is.

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

Very good value. Legal advice would be a lot more.

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

Yes I will definitely be recommending Beyond to my friends. It is so easy to dip in and out of when I have time. Each section is short and simple. There is a helpful 'chat' function if you need assistance. They replied to me in seconds. Brilliant service and great to know that help is there when I need it.

• Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

Yes it was really simple

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

It has helped my peace of mind as I had no will before and know how much of a nightmare it is without

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Yes

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

Very good, worth the peace of mind

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

Yes

Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?
Yes very easy. Loved how it just went through each section and explained everything in plain English as to what information was required.

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

100% We have been meaning to do this as long as we have had our daughter so 5 years. So glad it is done and dusted.

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Definitely!! Things change, possessions, relationships, how many children you have all sorts so I like that you can refresh as and when needed.

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

Really good. All you hear is how much solicitors charge per hour etc so it's always terrifying thinking how much you could spend out to get your questions answered and a will written.

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

Yes if you have hesitated until now, go for it. It takes a small amount of your time for a lifetime of reassurance.

• Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

Yes, it was easy and well explained. I made mine first, then dh made his (most information was already there so it was just a matter of selecting the info). Step children weren’t explained very well, so I did need to get in touch with them about that. However, the advertised “24/7 helpline” was actually only available Mon-Fri 8am-6pm... so that was frustrating to find out at 6.30pm on a Friday evening when I had a question about stepchildren and guardianship. The online chat was available Saturday and Sunday too.

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

Yes, very much so. We had been meaning to sort out our wills since we got married 4 years ago and now it feels good to know we have something in place.

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Yes. I like that it’s free for the first year.

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

It’s good value, a joint will in our area is approx £150.

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

Yes. The referral scheme is good and I’ll recommend it. It was convenient in the sense that we didn’t need to take time off work to sit with a solicitor to draw up our wills. Pretty easy to use. Although, I would have preferred the helpline to be available as stated. Also in the Mumsnet email, it wrongly stated that the online chat was available until 7pm, when in fact it was 6pm.

Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?
In some regards yes in that it's easy to access, although one tip would be to have the existing log in section visible at the top- I had to scroll for a while to find the link to log in on the mobile site. I also agree that the process for couples wills is not made clear at all (Unless you read through the FAQs before starting, but a heads up on the first page would be good).

Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?
I can't say it has I'm afraid. I know I'm in the minority on this feedback thread but I also have concerns about how this service works. I regularly assess mental capacity as part of my job and it stuck out very strongly to me that when using this service there is not a jot of effort or care taken to ensure that the person has capacity to make a will and is doing so of their own free will. (There would be literally nothing to stop someone creating a will for their parent with dementia for example and as the witness signatures are not even verified it's a dangerous situation in my mind). I noticed that the website says every will is checked by their in-house legal experts, but there's nothing on the website that says what staff hold as qualifications... and also according to the FAQs they can't see any of the contents of your will or most of your details... so what exactly are they checking to ensure it's legal? The whole process seemed very over-simplistic and actually highlighted to me why doing a will through a solicitor is important and better value for money (which we will now be doing).

Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?
Not really as I doubt the quality of the overall will to be honest.

How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?
I honestly didn't think I'd be saying this but I don't rate it positively and would rather pay more money to have a thorough and decent job done by a solicitor.

Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?
No I wouldn't, but thank you for selecting me to trial the service. It's been an eye-opener for me.

Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

Yes and no. I feel it is a very basic template and in some places not specific enough. For example, if my spouse dies then his 100% will go to our daughter but the tick box option to confirm this says that if he dies I wish my estate to go to ‘their children.’ It’s unclear as to whether this means ‘his’ children or ‘our’ children. We only have the one but if I was a person who’s husband had children from a previous relationship, the wording of this would concern me as I may want only wish my biological child to inherit. There’s no specific confirmation of the child/children who would benefit, which I feel is a bit ambiguous for such a document.

I found the template didn’t work on a mobile when it came to editing text. I tried to go back into a specific gift blurb and it would only show me the first line of text. I had to log in on my laptop to edit it properly.

It also doesn’t have a section for any extra comments you would wish to make or specific wishes you would like to be carried out i.e. funeral instructions.

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

Yes, knowing that I have a formal will in place is good. However, I felt rushed to complete it as I don’t have much time this week and I’d have rather taken more time over it and thought about it in a bit more depth.

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Yes.

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

It’s a lot cheaper than a solicitor but the template I got from a solicitors once was more in depth and professional.

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

Probably not. I think you could do the same thing for free quite easily.

Sorry, remembered another point that irked me! You have to work through the list in order, which meant I had to wait a while to have time to talk to my family to check they were happy with being named as guardians/ executor etc. I'd have much rather been able to complete the sections in any order I chose. (I meant to include this is my initial feedback, but would emphasise that even if this change was made I still wouldn't recommend the service).

Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?
Straight forward other than appointing pet guardians. (No one in our extended family would want our little horrors ) we would be looking at charities to care for them.

Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?
Not really, if anything it has made me more concerned about some aspects of dividing our estate. If myself or my husband dies, we would obviously leave everything to our children. However we travel a lot as a family and what if we were all to be wiped out in some air crash or road accident. That is what worries the most as we would want to leave the majority of our property to a charity which is very dear to us with some provision for nieces and nephews. Beyond doesn't address these complex issues.

Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?
I would imagine that all wills would be able to be revised.

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

I guess it is good value for some people but for me I don't feel it covers the complexities of dividing up our estate.

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

No. But Thanks for making me think about will writing properly, We have had a long and interesting conversation with our older children tonight.

Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

It was really easy to use. Goes through the steps really methodically.

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

Significantly. I knew i needed to rewrite my will since my marriage but had never found the time to sort one out (which is very remiss of me) but now its all done.

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Yes very especially as its online

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

Reasonable actually - my last will was done by a solicitors and cost more.

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

Yes i would

• Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

It was very easy to use, with minimal questions. It felt too simple at times and I felt like I may be missing something...

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

Slightly! It feels good to know guardianship is formalised but beyond that I don't think much else has changed.

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Yes, it's useful

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

Average. I think for such a simple will you could do your own will writing kit and it would be cheaper.

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

If they are after a simple will which is quick to sort - yes.

I already left feedback up the thread but I actually feel this isn't a great service, it's made dh and I talk more about the whole will-writing topic and we are in agreement that it's something we'd like to do more thoroughly, this is so basic and other posters' concerns are so valid, making me not along in agreement.

Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

• Yes - amazingly so. I still can't quite believe how simple it was!

Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

• Definitely. Having my DD threw into sharp relief just how unprepared I was for the worst. Knowing that I've done something to make sure she's secure is reassuring, especially now that we've designated a guardian for her.

Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

• Yes! We're hoping to have more children, so being able to update to reflect that is very helpful.

How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

• Really good value. I've paid more for pairs of shoes and, much as I love them, they don't make me feel as secure and at ease as this does!

Would you recommend Beyond's will writing service to other families?

• Definitely. It's so quick and easy and is well worth the £90 or £135.

• Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

Yes, the steps were explained clearly and in small steps, and it was easy to navigate back or forward. The option of online help was there too, although we didn't need to use it, as each step was clearly set out.

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

Yes. We have been meaning to arrange our wills ever since our first child was born, almost 6 years ago, but always put it off thinking it was a difficult process, but Beyond completely changed that! It couldn't have been easier to do.

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Yes. It would take a few simple steps and a couple minutes. Also, being able to access the wills to update at any time you want is great.

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

Excellent, and the small fee for updating the wills is great too. The cost of the product was clear, as was any additional items you may want to add.

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

Yes. It's such a very quick and simple process to go through, and gives you peace of mind if the worst was to happen.

Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

It was really easy, I thought there would be a lot more to making a will, don’t know why really, but the step by step system was so easy and convenient to do on my phone and was very user friendly.

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

Definitely. Having just had another baby it was really important for me to name a guardian.

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Yes as my circumstances will change in terms of finances etc I will probably need to make a couple of amendments in future.

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

To be honest I don’t know how much others would charge for this service so can’t compare but it seems a fair price.

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

Absolutely I would.

Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?
Yes I found it so easy to use. Great layout and simple. It was great that it wasn’t confusing.

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

Yes definitely! I’d be dreading making them but it really has lifted a weight off my mind knowing that I’ve chosen guardians for the children.

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Yes I think this is great and I like that a Years free is included though it would have been good to have a couple of years for the price paid.

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

I think it’s good value for money but could be better value if it included 3 free years of updates. I think it is a service that could be replicated by competitors so maybe this could be an extended feature.

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

Yes, I’m going to recommend to my friends especially as I can benefit from free years of updates.

• Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

It was fairly easy but it took me longer as I needed to think about things and prepare information for completing it. It’s a major thing to do and if you already have all the answer and info ready it is very quick and easy.

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

Yes, it’s something I /we have needed to do for a long time. We are not the traditional family but two families blended into one - so not as straight forward to know the “right thing” to do , with kids and step kids. Not sure it will be adequate for us, but at least something rather than nothing.

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Yes , I think I get free updates for a year- but will obviously need to get it re witnessed if we change it.

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

I think it would be a lot more money to do via a solicitors . As I said- not sure if it will be adequate as we are tenants in common and two joint families ( and one together)

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

Yes really easy . The only issue I had was completing a couples will , it wasn’t as straight forward as I thought and I thought I had messed up so had to read through all the small print to find out the process for couples - I think they could explain it more at the start of the process when you click joint / couples ( just briefly explain then rather than hidden in small print)

• Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

YEs, ridiculously easy and quick to do! I managed to sort it in 15 minutes whilst wrangling my toddler and feeding my baby (obviously double checked everything when I got a chance!)

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

Yes, we didn't have anything in place before expressing our wishes as to who would have our girls so knowing it has been done is a relief.

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Yes

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

I've not looked into a will writing service before and admittedly I would have found it too expensive, we're not on a very high income and it would take us some months to save up for something like this and that would put us off when a will kit isn't that expensive.

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

Definitely for those with complicated needs or for those who can afford something like this easily, but a lot of people I would talk to on a day-to-day basis wouldn't have the finances to pay for something like this easily.

Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

I found it very easy to use, easy to navigate and user friendly. Quick and straightforward.

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

Yes, now I have children I have been meaning to get a will in place, and the recent death of a friend highlighted this as a sensible thing to do

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Absolutely

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

I think it is reasonably priced, yes.

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

I definitely would. I was impressed with the whole process.

• Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

It was so easy to use. I liked that I could complete a section, save it, and I could then come back and finish it in my own time. However, the total time taken to fill in all the details was very quick. I had a query over one section as it didn't seem to save properly, but I used the online chat facility and it was sorted out immediately.

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

We've been putting off doing our will for some time. Unfortunately this year we have lost friends and family unexpectedly. Their families have had the added struggle of their paperwork being incomplete, not updated or no will at all. This has given me peace of mind that our affairs are now in order should the worst happen.

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Very reassuring and I'm very happy that I can do it so quickly and easily.

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service? The value for money is very good considering the ease of using Beyond. I had looked into a will with our preferred solicitor and the price was similar, but it would require an appointment at their offices and I'm unsure as to how easy updates would be. I also don't know what my solicitor would charge for updates.

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families? I already have! I know at least two people who were in a similar position to us and they really like the ease of use that Beyond gives them.

Their for the opportunity to test and the link up the bin needed to get me to write a will.

• Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

So easy, I'm such a procrastinator. The save function was very handy.

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

Yes, very much so. Its simple and straightforward but makes a big difference.

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Absolutely, Dd1 is 18 soon so I'll update it.

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

Very good.

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

Yes, it's easy and very reassuring to have it done.

-Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

Yes, it was quick and easy

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

Yes, as its something I put off due to a lack of time, this made it simple to do from my own home

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Very, I made a mistake initially and it was really easy to go back and edit

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

I can't compare it to other similar services but compared to getting one witnessed and signed with a solicitor, yes it's good value for money especially when you consider the time spent doing it as well

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

Yes I would

• Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?

It was very easy. It made me think about my wishes and, having just lost a parent, has prompted me to start to get my paperwork in order.

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

Not totally but I certainly feel better knowing that my partner will get everything we jointly own.

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future?

Yes, as I think about more it I will definitely want to make amendments.

• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

It almost seems too cheap but it was what I wanted, a simple way of getting the basics covered.

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families?

Yes.

My situation isn’t complicated. What would happen happen if myself and partner got married? Would it be as simple as amending my marital status?

-Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use?
Yes, it was pretty straightforward, and easy to get online help if needed.
- Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?
Yes, it is good to have at least started the process and to have something in place. I would need to do further research to see if such a simple will covers all that is needed.
- Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future? Possibly, if the need arose, but I think I would prefer a one- off payment for this rather than a subscription to a company that could close.
How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?
It seems very quick and basic, so I'm not sure how much I would be willing to pay.

- Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families? Yes, for anyone who wants a simple will and does not want to do their own research.

Did you and your family find Beyond's online will writing service easy to use? yes it was quick and easy to use it really didnt take long at all to set up and explained how to do it

• Do you feel that it has helped your peace of mind?

yes it has and it was so easy to do

• Is it reassuring to know you can easily update it any time in the future? yes great to know and has given me peace of mind
• How do you rate the value for money of the will writing service?

very good value and no stress of going to solicitors

• Would you recommend Beyond’s will-writing service to other families? yes i would recommend and will be to friends and colleagues

thanks for letting us do this trial