Quicken WillMaker & Trust review: the cheapest trust from a big name, and the one-year catch

Quicken WillMaker & Trust is the old name in do-it-yourself estate planning. Nolo, the legal publisher behind it, has been producing it for decades, and it used to come with a version year on the box. It is now sold as one product with three plans, online or as a download, and it is consistently the cheapest way to get a complete estate plan from a name people recognise.

The cheapness is real, but it comes from what WillMaker does not do: nobody reviews your answers, there is no lawyer to call, and the free updates stop after a year. This review explains which plan to buy, what the first year really covers, and the things the WillMaker will is designed not to do. Everything comes from WillMaker’s own pricing page, FAQ and legal manual, read on the date shown in the facts table. We have not bought it yet.

Which WillMaker plan do you actually need?

Plan	Price	What it includes
Starter	$109	Wills, health care directives, final arrangements
Plus	$149	Everything in Starter, plus financial power of attorney, letter to survivors, living trust, transfer-on-death deed, and the download version
All Access	$219	Everything in Plus, plus smaller documents (limited power of attorney, quitclaim deed, promissory note, temporary guardianship) and a one-year subscription

For almost everyone, Plus is the real price. Starter leaves out the financial power of attorney, the document that lets someone pay your bills and manage your accounts if you cannot. Most estate planning advice treats it as a core document, alongside the will and the health care directive. Starter also has no living trust and no download version. The difference between Starter and Plus is small enough that saving it rarely makes sense.

All Access is only worth it if you need one of the smaller forms. The pricing page lists a “1 Yr Subscription” in it without spelling out what that covers beyond the plan, so do not buy it for that line alone.

Is WillMaker really a one-time purchase?

Mostly, with one condition you need to plan around. When you buy, you get 1 year from purchase of free revisions and updates. After that, renewal is optional: $39.99/year for more revisions, optional.

What happens if you do not renew depends on which version you used:

• Download version: Use indefinitely; legal and technical updates for 1 year. The software keeps working; you just stop receiving legal and technical updates.
• Online version: Make and revise for 1 year; documents viewable 90 days after. After those 90 days, you lose online access to your documents.

That second line is the single most important thing to know about WillMaker. If you make your documents online, download and save the final versions as soon as you have signed them. Treat the online account as a workspace, not a vault.

Three-year cost on the Plus plan:

	Year 1	Over three years
Plus, never renewed	$149	$149
Plus, renewed for years 2 and 3	$149	$228.98
Starter, renewed for years 2 and 3	$109	$188.98
All Access, renewed for years 2 and 3	$219	$298.98

Two renewals add $79.98. There is no reason to renew in a year when nothing in your life has changed; renew in the year you need to edit.

How does it handle couples and families?

This is where WillMaker beats everyone on price. One purchase lets you make up to five of each document type for yourself and your immediate family: five wills, five powers of attorney, five health care directives and so on. A married couple pays the plan price once.

The one limit is philosophical: WillMaker will not make a joint will. Each spouse makes a separate will. Nolo’s FAQ explains why: joint wills try to stop the surviving spouse from changing their mind, which tends to tie property up for years and invite court fights over whether the survivor can revoke it. To make matching wills quickly, use the “Duplicate for Spouse” button at the end of the will interview.

What can’t the WillMaker will do?

Nolo publishes a candid list in its legal manual, and it is worth reading before you buy, because these are deliberate design limits, not bugs:

• No conditional gifts. You cannot leave something “if” a person does or stops doing something. Gifts go outright.
• A built-in survival period. Beneficiaries must outlive you by 45 days; if they do not, the gift goes to your alternate.
• No explanations in the will. You cannot write your reasons into the will itself; you can leave a separate letter.
• One property guardian per child. You can name a couple as a child’s personal guardians, but only one person to manage a child’s property, with a backup.
• No life estates. You cannot leave your house to your spouse for life and then to your grandchildren through the will. That needs a trust.
• No bond requirement for your executor, although a court may still require one.

If any of these is central to your plan, WillMaker’s will is the wrong tool for that part of it. For a loved one with special needs, its FAQ is direct: do not leave property to them through the will; leave it to a special needs trust drafted by an attorney.

How do you finalize WillMaker documents?

Every document comes with signing instructions for your state. The general pattern from Nolo’s FAQ: Wills witnessed; living trusts and financial powers of attorney notarized. Health care directives are witnessed, notarized or both, depending on the state; final arrangements and letters are just signed.

For a living trust, signing is only the first step. WillMaker’s trust avoids probate only for assets you transfer into it, so retitle your house deed and accounts after you sign. WillMaker includes a transfer-on-death deed in Plus, which in states that allow it is a simpler alternative for passing a house without probate; the legal manual explains when to use which.

How much help do you get?

On-screen help for every question, a detailed legal manual, and Nolo customer support by phone and email on weekdays for technical and practical questions. That is all. Nolo’s pages are clear that WillMaker is self-help, not legal advice, and there is no option to add an attorney review.

That makes WillMaker the right tool for a particular kind of buyer: someone who is happy to read a manual, whose family and property are fairly simple, and who would rather spend the difference on something else. If you know you will want to ask a lawyer something, LegalZoom’s Premium tiers or Trust & Will’s attorney add-on are built for that.

What if you change your mind after buying?

We could not find a refund policy on willmaker.com, in its pricing FAQ or on its support page. Nolo’s own site, which may have one, blocked our automated reading. If a refund matters to you, ask Nolo customer support in writing before you buy and keep the reply.

Where WillMaker does not work

• Louisiana: Not usable in Louisiana. Nolo’s FAQ says Louisiana’s estate law, based on the Napoleonic code, is too different, and points Louisiana residents to a basic online form instead.
• Outside the United States: not for people whose permanent residence is abroad. Temporary absences, such as school, work or military service, are fine if a U.S. state is still your legal home.
• Data between versions: documents made online cannot be moved to the download version, or the reverse.

WillMaker in four common situations

A married couple with young children, renting. Buy Plus once and make two wills, two health care directives and two financial powers of attorney. In each will, name the same personal guardians for the children (WillMaker lets you name a couple) and one property guardian with a backup. Check that your two wills do not name different guardians; Nolo’s manual specifically warns about that.

A homeowner in a state where probate is slow or costly. Plus covers both routes: a living trust, or a transfer-on-death deed if your state allows one. A transfer-on-death deed is simpler to set up and keeps the house out of probate without retitling it now; a trust does more, including managing property if you become unable to. The legal manual compares the two before you choose.

A retiree replacing a will written years ago. Plus, made in the download version, so the documents never depend on an account. Do everything in the first year, sign, store the originals, and only renew in a later year when something changes.

A single person with simple wishes. Starter at $109 covers a will and health care directive, but it leaves out the financial power of attorney, which matters as much for a single person as for anyone. Either buy Plus, or consider whether a free will plus a separate power of attorney form covers you.

How it compares on price

On the lowest tier that includes a living trust, for one person:

	Living trust	Couple
Quicken WillMaker & Trust (Plus)	$149	Same plan
LegalZoom (Basic Trust)	$399	$499
Trust & Will (Trust plan)	$499	$599

The gap is large. What the other two charge for is guidance: a guided questionnaire built around the trust, attorney access options, funding help and, at Trust & Will, a partner network for notaries and deeds.

Who should buy something else

• You want someone to call. LegalZoom’s Premium tiers include a year of attorney consultations.
• You want the trust to be the centre of the product, with funding guides and paid help for notarizing and deed transfers: Trust & Will.
• You need a single will document as cheaply as possible: LawDepot sells single documents, and FreeWill is free for a simple will.

How to buy WillMaker well

1. Buy Plus, unless you are certain you need neither a trust nor a financial power of attorney.
2. Choose online or download once. Pick the download if you want documents that never depend on an account.
3. Make everyone’s documents in the first year. Spouse, adult children who want a health care directive: the plan covers up to five of each document for immediate family.
4. Read the “cannot do” list before you start, and see a lawyer for any part of your plan that needs one of those features.
5. Sign in one sitting, following the state instructions that come with each document.
6. Download and back up the signed versions, especially if you worked online.
7. Renew only in a year you need to edit.