An online will in New Zealand can be free, cost around NZ$100 for a straightforward document, or cost considerably more when a person needs professional advice, complex trusts or ongoing administration services. Compare the completed will, signing requirements and long-term commitments, not just the initial checkout price. As at 2 November 2026, free and one-off products coexist with optional subscriptions; it would be misleading to describe recurring update fees as universal or compulsory.
Wills, Powers of Attorney & GuardianshipNZ online will prices: a grounded comparison
There is no government-mandated price for drafting a will. The Public Trust online will service offers packages matched to the customer's situation, and its current website says new wills include one free like-for-like update each year. Its public FAQ describes different service levels and optional expert review. Its September 2026 price list, linked from its current fees page and checked on 2 November 2026, lists Basic at NZ$69, Standard at NZ$99 and Comprehensive at NZ$159. Additional online reopenings outside the free annual update are NZ$33, NZ$50 and NZ$79 respectively. Confirm the applicable package and optional extras in the live quote.
Footprint's Single Will is advertised at NZ$100 as a one-off purchase. It differs from the Footprint Will Package, advertised at NZ$120 per year, which includes specified additional estate-administration and storage benefits. The choice of an annual package is not equivalent to a compulsory annual fee on every Footprint will. The provider's terms must be checked carefully, including any estate-administration charges or conditions attached to professional executor services.
Sharesies Wills states NZ$99 for an individual and NZ$168 for couples, with free edits for the first 30 days, and NZ$49 to reopen for many subsequent changes. Its separate help article explains that this is a do-it-yourself tool aimed at straightforward estates, not a substitute for a law firm's individual legal advice.
EveryWill New Zealand advertises a completed free online will funded by charities, with charitable gifts optional. A free will therefore is not necessarily a 'trial' or impossible to obtain. Verify what you can download, what legal content the template covers and whether its terms fit your needs before treating zero dollars as a complete cost comparison.
The seven components of real will-making cost
Separate the price into drafting, document review, signing assistance, revisions, physical or digital storage, probate administration and professional executor services. A provider may include several in one package; a different provider may charge only for the draft. Neither arrangement is inherently better until you understand your circumstances.
The legal document is one component. Signing a will under section 11 of the Wills Act 2007 involves the will-maker and two witnesses in the required manner. A paid online draft that has never been properly signed does not become enforceable merely because the transaction succeeded. A completed document should therefore include clear signing instructions and a procedure for keeping the original accessible.
Document review can mean anything from a human completeness check to tailored solicitor advice. Ask whether a qualified lawyer actually reviews your family relationships, beneficial ownership and tax position. The label 'expert review' does not tell you what the provider will do if your situation is legally complicated.
Updates matter because people marry, enter civil unions, separate, have children and buy homes. A subscription might be worthwhile if regular redrafting is needed. But the need to update a will does not mean its legal validity expires on a billing anniversary. A validly signed will can continue to have legal effect until lawfully revoked or superseded.
Storage can be convenient, especially if executors know where the signed original is held. A digital scan is helpful for discovery and backup, but do not equate a scan with the original legal instrument or assume a provider will automatically release it to anyone who knows a password.
The most expensive component may arrive after death. A professional executor or estate administrator may charge for probate, asset realisation, property sales, tax returns and distributions. Read an appointment clause carefully before choosing a corporate executor merely to obtain a discounted drafting fee.
An illustrative five-year cost comparison
Consider someone who needs a straightforward will today and expects only one major life event requiring a rewrite. A Footprint Single Will is advertised at NZ$100. If the user later buys an entirely new single will at the same advertised price, the illustrative total is NZ$200, assuming unchanged pricing and eligibility. This is a model, not a contractual guarantee of future prices.
Footprint's NZ$120 annual Will Package would total NZ$600 over five charged years, before any conditions or additional services. It includes services beyond simple redrafting, so comparing NZ$600 with a NZ$100 document while ignoring the other benefits is unfair. The proper question is whether the purchaser would use those benefits and what they would otherwise cost.
Sharesies' NZ$99 single will plus two hypothetical NZ$49 paid reopenings after the initial free period totals NZ$197 at the published rates. Confirm what qualifies as a free change to an asset or non-monetary gift list, because its help centre distinguishes those from other edits. A member of the public should not assume every amendment incurs the same charge.
EveryWill advertises no document-drafting charge for its standard online will. The monetary cost for that simple scenario may therefore be zero, but the service is not necessarily suitable for a complex family trust, disputed capacity, foreign assets or unusual clauses. A genuinely free product can be excellent for its intended audience without being the best answer for every estate.
Wills, Powers of Attorney & GuardianshipWhat the Wills Act actually requires
A will generally must be in writing and signed by the will-maker, or signed on their behalf under the statutory conditions, with at least two witnesses together in the will-maker's presence at signing or acknowledgement. Each witness must sign the document in the will-maker's presence. Community Law's practical explanation recommends signing or initialling the bottom of each page as a precaution against substitution, but doing so on every page is not an express requirement in section 11.
Witnesses should be independent, capable people who are not beneficiaries or the spouse, civil-union partner or de facto partner of a beneficiary. Section 13 of the Act can void certain gifts connected with attesting witnesses without necessarily invalidating the entire will. Ask your provider whether it checks for beneficiary-witness conflicts.
An online template's technical quality does not replace testamentary capacity or freedom from pressure. Someone with an anticipated dispute, impaired capacity, a large gift to a carer or a complex family situation should strongly consider a solicitor and independent contemporaneous evidence.
When a lawyer earns their fee
The added value of a lawyer is usually legal analysis, not prettier formatting. A lawyer can check relationship-property ownership, obligations to children and partners, trusts, international assets and how different legal instruments interact. A surviving partner may elect between rights under the will and an application for division of relationship property. The Ministry of Justice explains the options, including significant deadlines and the need for formal legal advice.
A family future security checklist can help prepare for an appointment, but a simple list cannot resolve a contested relationship-property claim or the validity of a contracting-out agreement. A comparison of estate planning lawyer vs online estate planning tools should examine what advice is actually delivered, rather than assume a fixed price is always inferior or better.
More complex cases include an owner of a closely held company, two families with competing expectations, a child receiving needs-based support, an estate with land overseas, or a trust whose assets are not beneficially owned by the will-maker. An initial lawyer consultation can uncover questions that would otherwise emerge after death as legal costs.
KiwiSaver, homes and assets you cannot simply ignore
A will inventory should include the KiwiSaver provider, balance, account identification and how the executor will contact the scheme. Crucially, the KiwiSaver Act 2006 generally directs death withdrawals to the personal representative as part of the member's estate, subject to the statutory small-estate payment exception. It is wrong to describe KiwiSaver as automatically passing outside a will in the same way as some foreign discretionary pensions.
The small-estate threshold increased from NZ$15,000 to NZ$40,000 in September 2025. Under the relevant exceptions, qualifying institutions can sometimes release an individual holding without a High Court grant, yet the figure is not a universal legal ceiling on the total estate. Community Law explains this distinction.
Property ownership also matters. Land held as joint tenants may pass by survivorship, while other interests may be part of the estate. A will cannot automatically dispose of property held solely by a trust or another legal person. Assess the title rather than simply entering the home's approximate value into an online calculator.
Three purchasing scenarios
A single adult living in Wellington with a straightforward estate may be well served by a suitable low-cost or free draft, if the execution formalities are observed. An executor handover pack should identify the signed original and financial providers so the family can actually use it.
A married couple with young children in Christchurch should plan guardianship, property rights and contingencies. The children guardianship helps frame the questions, but a testamentary guardian does not automatically get day-to-day custody merely by being named in a will. The couple may need legal review depending on their arrangements.
A remarried Auckland homeowner with children from an earlier relationship and property in Australia should consider tailored advice, even where a standard will can be drafted cheaply. blended family planning and digital inheritance planning are different workstreams which must coordinate with formal estate documents.
Wills, Powers of Attorney & GuardianshipA better comparison checklist
Write down each provider's full legal entity, jurisdictional availability, initial NZD price, GST treatment, lawyer involvement, final-download rights, update conditions, cancellation process, original-storage arrangements and any executor-related contract. Save a dated copy of the quote. Compare a separate professional fee estimate where the circumstances need legal advice.
Check whether cloud storage and family documents is actually part of the purchased package and whether it can be used without giving strangers unnecessary access. Treat storage as a practical service, not a substitute for valid signing.
Before checking out, read the total and whether any add-on is preselected. A provider can make an honest offer with an optional upgrade. A reviewer should allege a 'hidden fee' only after finding a specific undisclosed charge and reliable evidence.
What should you pay, ultimately?
Pay for what you need to create an appropriate legal instrument and make sure your representatives can find it. For a simple estate, a free or one-off will may be suitable. For trusts, complex relationships or cross-border assets, a solicitor may be cost-effective despite the higher drafting fee. Future estate administration can cost substantially more than the original preparation.
A digital asset inventory and letters of wishes can improve communication with executors, but neither changes the legal effect of the will. Review all of these records after major life events. The real target is clarity for the people who will act, not simply the lowest advertised checkout number.
A quote worksheet that makes different offers comparable
Before choosing a provider, write a short description of your actual instructions. For example: one will for an adult with an individually owned bank account, KiwiSaver, a share in a home, two adult beneficiaries and a substitute executor. Ask every provider to price that same set of instructions. A low starting price for a different type of estate does not answer your question.
Request five separate figures: the completed document today, any human review, signing assistance, the next ordinary update and professional estate administration. Record which are compulsory, which are optional and which cannot be estimated yet. Also ask whether the amount includes GST. A quotation that bundles services can be good value, provided you can identify what you are buying and what your estate might pay later.
Use a family document organisation system to keep the quote, terms, receipt and final version together. Save the date on which each offer was checked. This helps a future executor understand whether a payment bought a document, storage, advice or an ongoing package, without having to reconstruct a purchase from an old bank statement.
Ask who controls the executor appointment
Check the actual executor clause before downloading. Naming a professional executor is a substantial decision, even when it appears inside a low-cost drafting workflow. Ask what happens if that organisation cannot act, whether a family member can be named instead, how fees are calculated and which tasks can attract additional charges. An annual benefit advertised as covering estate administration may have eligibility conditions, exclusions or limits.
Do not assume the person who helps you complete the questionnaire must also administer the estate. Equally, a professional appointment may be sensible where there is no suitable family member, significant conflict or complex assets. The relevant comparison is the expected work and the terms of the appointment. It is not simply whether the drafting screen says free.
Wills, Powers of Attorney & GuardianshipPlan the costs that begin outside the will platform
A cheap will cannot correct missing ownership information. Collect mortgage details, bank names, business interests and insurance ownership before drafting. Banking access planning means recording the bank and the lawful estate process, rather than giving an executor your login. The latter can create security and authority problems while doing little to establish who is entitled to the funds.
Maintain family insurance records separately. Identify the policyholder, life insured, nominated recipient if applicable, insurer and adviser. The person insured is not always the person who owns the contract, and not every policy pays through the estate. An adviser can confirm the arrangements. A will-cost calculator that treats all insurance proceeds as estate money may therefore give a misleading picture of both the assets and the work involved.
Explain personal preferences in a memorandum of wishes where appropriate, while keeping legally binding gifts in the will itself. A personal note can help an executor understand family context; it cannot repair an ineffective gift or replace necessary legal drafting. Asking a lawyer which instructions belong in each document can prevent paying for repeated amendments after the first draft.
Decide what happens if you leave the service
Ask whether you can retain the final document after closing an account and how to retrieve an original held in storage. If updates stop, check whether the provider retains the old draft and whether you can download a copy. A provider's account-retention policy and the legal status of an already signed will are separate matters. A signed instrument does not ordinarily expire because a website subscription ends, although later events or legal changes can affect it.
Think about secure document storage before cancelling. Keep the executed original safe and tell your executor its location. A scan helps someone identify the document; it does not eliminate the importance of the original or guarantee that probate can proceed without further evidence. Avoid a plan in which the only location record is locked inside the account being closed.
Use your preparation budget where it makes the most difference
Someone with straightforward instructions may spend little on drafting and more time checking names, substitute beneficiaries and the signing process. Someone with a family business or an intended exclusion of a close relative may need advice before choosing any template. Do not use a lower document price to postpone a legal question that the questionnaire cannot answer.
Evaheld brings will creation, personal wishes and estate essentials into the broader planning process. Its free online will maker information explains the distinction between preparing a document and completing the legal steps that give it effect. Confirm the available jurisdiction and features before starting. The published Free Vault includes five written items and excludes file, audio and video uploads; paid features should be assessed separately rather than described as part of a free will offer.
The practical saving comes from giving each person the right job: the will-maker decides, the drafting tool or adviser records those decisions, suitable witnesses observe execution, and the executor later acts with lawful authority. Paying twice for overlapping storage or subscriptions adds little if those responsibilities remain unclear.
A couple should compare two decisions, not one checkout
If you and a partner are buying together, write down which instructions are actually shared and which are different. One person may have children from an earlier relationship, an individually owned investment or an obligation to a relative. A discounted pair should still produce appropriate individual instructions. Check whether changing one document updates the other or whether each person must make and execute their own change.
Decide who will maintain the supporting records as well. A shared household list can identify the mortgage or insurer, while each person's private instructions remain under their control. Before paying, ask what happens if the relationship ends or one person leaves the service. This is part of comparing an actual couple's needs, rather than multiplying the cheapest individual headline by two.
Related Evaheld legal resources may use Australian examples. Use their general planning concepts alongside the New Zealand legislation and official guidance cited here; do not apply foreign legal rules to an NZ will.
Your next step
Keep your will, provider decisions and executor information together in a secure digital legacy vault. Start with a short written location record and the people who should know it exists; choose upload or other paid features only if you need them.
