Create the legal documents.
Guided wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health-care directives, and related estate-plan documents.
BeforeHand vs Trust & Will
Do you need legal documents—or a plan your family can operate?
Trust & Will helps people create estate-planning documents. BeforeHand helps families connect documents to the accounts, instructions, trusted people, access rules, and responsibilities surrounding them.
Create your family blueprint
14-day trial · Individual $49.99/year · Family $99.99/year
The simplest distinction
They can complement each other
Make the plan usable.
Connect documents to real accounts, instructions, people, access decisions, and practical follow-through.
This is not “documents versus no documents”
A legal estate plan and an operational continuity plan solve different jobs.
Trust & Will's current Will Plan includes a will, HIPAA authorization, living will, and power of attorney. Its Trust Plan adds a revocable living trust, schedule of assets, certification of trust, and trust-funding guidance.
Those documents may establish wishes or authority. A family can still need a maintained record of institutions, bills, digital accounts, document locations, contacts, instructions, and who is responsible for each next step.
Side-by-side
Choose based on the job you need completed.
The comparison below describes product emphasis—not a claim that either service replaces a qualified professional.
What you needTrust & WillBeforeHand
Create a state-specific will or revocable living trust
Trust & Will
Core offering
BeforeHand
Not a document-creation service
Create a power of attorney or advance health-care directive
Trust & Will
Included in its estate-plan packages
BeforeHand
Store, locate, and connect documents prepared elsewhere
Maintain a secure place for important documents
Trust & Will
Digital Vault with membership
BeforeHand
Encrypted document organization within the continuity plan
Connect accounts, instructions, documents, and responsible people
Trust & Will
Document and vault centered
BeforeHand
Core continuity workflow
Track practical responsibilities during a family transition
Trust & Will
Legal roles and document guidance
BeforeHand
Assigned responsibilities, status, and follow-through
Prepare for incapacity
Trust & Will
Legal documents and trust provisions
BeforeHand
Operational information, access, and coordination around them
Trust & Will information verified from its official plan comparison and official FAQ. Reviewed July 30, 2026.
Three reasonable paths
You may need one service—or both.
Choose Trust & Will when
Your immediate need is creating legal documents.
- You need a guided will or revocable living trust.
- You need state-specific powers of attorney or health-care directives.
- You want document creation, signing instructions, and optional attorney support in one process.
Choose BeforeHand when
Your immediate need is making the plan usable in real life.
- You already have documents or will prepare them with your own professional.
- Your family needs accounts, contacts, instructions, and documents connected in one place.
- You want responsibilities, access, and outstanding work to stay clear as circumstances change.
Use both when
You need the authority and the operating plan.
- Create or update legal documents through the provider or professional you choose.
- Place the location, context, responsible people, and practical instructions in BeforeHand.
- Review both after major family, health, legal, or financial changes.
Documents in context
Record what each document is for, where the signed original is kept, and which situation may make it relevant.
People with clear roles
Connect trusted people to the information and responsibilities appropriate to them.
Work that stays visible
Keep practical actions and outstanding follow-through from disappearing into calls, inboxes, and memory.
Common comparison questions
Understand the difference before choosing.
Is BeforeHand a replacement for Trust & Will?+
Not when your primary need is creating a will, trust, power of attorney, or health-care directive. BeforeHand is designed for the operational layer around those documents: accounts, locations, instructions, trusted people, access, and follow-through.
Can Trust & Will help with incapacity?+
Yes. Its official materials state that its plans can include powers of attorney, health-care directives, and trust provisions relevant during incapacity. BeforeHand addresses a different part of the problem: helping the family locate information and coordinate practical responsibilities around valid authority.
Does Trust & Will have document storage?+
Yes. Trust & Will describes a secure Digital Vault as part of its annual membership. BeforeHand’s distinction is not simply file storage; it connects information and documents to accounts, situations, people, permissions, and work that remains outstanding.
Can I use documents created somewhere else in BeforeHand?+
Yes. BeforeHand is document-neutral. You can organize documents prepared through an online provider or your own attorney and record where originals are kept and who may need them.
Already have—or plan to create—the documents?
Make sure your family can actually use the plan.
Connect the documents to the accounts, instructions, trusted people, access decisions, and practical work around them.
Create your family blueprint14-day trial · Cancel before renewal