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Rocket Lawyer Review: Pros & Cons

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Rocket Lawyer Review

When it comes to online estate planning, Rocket Lawyer is a solid option with a few caveats. The company’s seven-day free trial allows you to create a will and other legal documents for free, but you have to enter your credit card information and pay for expanded access to the platform. Rocket Lawyer will also help you to create a wide range of different estate planning documents. However, because DIY estate planning comes with certain risks, it may be a good idea to work with a financial advisor in your area.

Rocket Lawyer Overview

Pros– Plenty of offerings
– Direct contact with lawyers
– Great customer service
Cons– Relatively expensive
Best For– Those who want access to a wide range of legal and estate planning services and who don’t mind paying

Rocket Lawyer: Services and Features

Rocket Lawyer Review

Rocket Lawyer is an extremely robust estate planning tool. You’ll have the option to create a plethora of different legal documents that may or may not have to do with estate planning. You can create wills and trusts, but you also have the option to make other custom legal documents and contracts and create an LLC, non-profit or corporation. Another great feature of Rocket Lawyer is the ability to work directly with a lawyer who can help you plan or even review documents that you make on the platform.

Creating an online will is the main estate planning focus of Rocket Lawyer’s services. While you can make your will online for free by taking advantage of the platform’s seven-day free trail, there are other options as well. A monthly membership, which costs $39.99 per month, gives you access to legal support and unlimited access to any documents. For $39.99 you can also buy lifetime access to any single document, like a will.

Rocket Lawyer covers a wide range of estate planning needs, including issues that involve:

  • Asset division
  • Digital assets
  • Beneficiaries
  • Order of death
  • Guardians
  • Last wishes

The platform uses a detailed questionnaire to help you address different aspects of your situation. One thing that makes Rocket Lawyer really stand out is the ability to speak directly with an attorney. However, if you want your will to incorporate home estates, trusts, medical planning and power of attorney, you’ll need to look elsewhere, as Rocket Lawyer won’t help with such services.

Rocket Lawyer: Pricing

Rocket Lawyer’s Fee Structure

Membership Tiers– Free seven-day trial
– $39.99 monthly membership that includes support and ongoing access to documents
– $39.99 for lifetime access to a single document
Non-Member Services– Contact with a lawyer: $49.99/question
– 30-minute consultation: $59.99
– Document defense: $9.99/document

Rocket Lawyer has many different services, but when it comes to estate planning, most services start at $39.99. Whether you’re choosing the monthly membership ($39.99), taking advantage of the seven-day free trial or creating a single document that you want lifetime access to ($39.99), Rocket Lawyer tends to be pretty affordable.

However, when you start annexing additional services, the prices can pile up a bit. The same goes for anyone who’s paying $39.99 every month for the platform’s full suite of services.

Rocket Lawyer: Customer Support

Rocket Lawyer Review

Rocket Lawyer stands out when it comes to customer support, especially for those who pay the monthly membership rate. But at any membership level, when you’re filling out the questionnaire to create your will, you can submit questions and expect to hear back within a single business day.

The monthly membership gives you access to email support, chat support, attorney consultations and more. Note that Rocket Lawyer seems to intentionally leave out some definitions and support measures, which suggests that you will need to pay for an attorney. This could get frustrating for users unfamiliar with various estate planning documents.

Rocket Lawyer: Online Experience

Rocket Lawyer is an online platform, so you won’t need to download any cumbersome software onto your computer in order to take advantage of its services. In addition, you’ll have access to a wide range of legal services, even if its estate planning services are more limited. However, the user experience leaves plenty to be desired.

The platform can be a bit confusing, especially for those who might not be super familiar with estate planning. It’s clunky and doesn’t provide the types of straightforward and easy to understand help that’s present with many other online estate planning platforms.

More specifically, the terminology Rocket Lawyer uses is tough to understand. This could mean you might need to contact the company for help, which involves paying for a monthly membership or paying for a lawyer to answer your questions for a price. If you’re well-versed in estate planning lingo, though, this tool is a great fit for you.

How Does Rocket Lawyer Stack Up?

Rocket Lawyer stands out above the competition mainly because it provides access to lawyers and other experts who can help you through the estate planning process. While costs can add up a bit, the ability to create and download a will for free during a seven-day trial is a huge positive. And even though the variety of estate planning services can be limited, access to a wide variety of legal forms could make the service well worth it beyond just estate planning.

Comparing Rocket Lawyer to Other Services

ServicePricingFeaturesAccessibility
Rocket Lawyer– $39.99/month membership
– With no membership, services available for a separate cost
– Free seven-day trial for will making
– Sessions with a lawyer
– Online Q&A with lawyers
– Document defense
– Form an LLC, corporation or non-profit
– Registered agent service
– Web-based program
Trust & Will– Guardianship: $399 ($499 for couples)
– Will: $39 ($69 for couples)
– Trust: $89 ($159 for couples)
– Guardian membership
– Will membership
– Trust membership
– Web-based program
Quicken WillMaker & Trust– $99 for all services– Final arrangements for your resting place
– Wills
– Trusts
– Specify how to handle debts
– Name an executor
– Health care directive
– Software

Bottom Line

Rocket Lawyer isn’t only an estate planning platform. It connects clients with lawyers and offers a variety of legal services that include forming LLCs and non-profits, document defense and will writing.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for broad-based estate planning services, you might want to look elsewhere. That’s because other services tend to focus only on estate planning. But if you’re interested in having easy access to attorneys who can answer your questions quickly, Rocket Lawyer will be hard to beat.

Tips for Estate Planning

  • financial advisor can help you find solutions for your estate planning situation, including your various needs and beneficiaries. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with financial advisors in your area in just five minutes. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors, get started now.
  • An often forgotten part of an estate plan, a living will or another form of advance directive can be valuable if you ever can’t communicate decisions on your own. This will ensure that your doctors and loved ones comply with your choices.

Photo credit: ©iStock.com/katleho Seisa, Vanessa Garber, Join Cake

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