- A lawyer makes your wishes legally binding. It does not tell your family where your accounts, passwords or crypto are.
- A will does not control assets that pass by beneficiary designation, like life insurance and retirement accounts.
- Formal probate runs about 9 to 18 months in California; a UK grant takes around 12 weeks. Banks freeze sole accounts until then.
- Only 24% of US adults have a will, and 48% have no plan at all for their digital accounts.
An estate lawyer can do things a digital legacy plan cannot: write a valid will, set up a trust, name an executor, nominate a guardian for your children, and prepare a power of attorney for the years you might be alive but unable to act. None of that is optional, and no app replaces it.
A will still leaves the practical part untouched. Even with a valid one, your family can be stuck on simple questions: which accounts exist, where the records are, how to get past a device passcode or a two-factor code, and how to reach crypto with no keys or seed phrase. One layer is legal ownership. The other is whether anyone can actually find and reach what you left.
A lawyer decides who legally owns what. A digital legacy plan tells your family what exists, where it is, and how to reach it.
What the lawyer route costs
Cost depends on the country and on how much you ask for. Simple wills are usually priced clearly. Full attorney-led planning is not.
In the US, an attorney-drafted simple will is commonly $300 to $1,000, sometimes more, and a full estate plan with a trust runs about $2,000 to $5,000 or more. The average US attorney hourly rate was $349 in Clio's 2026 report.
In the UK, MoneyHelper puts a straightforward solicitor-drafted will at £180 to £420, and people who used a lawyer in Which?'s May 2025 survey paid £328 on average. A solicitor codicil to change a will later is £70 to £200.
Continental Europe leans on notaries with regulated fees. A French notarised will costs €135.83. In Germany the fee is value-based: about €165 for an individual will at a €50,000 estate. In Poland a notarial will has a maximum fee of 50 zl, rising to 150 zl with an ordinary bequest and 200 zl with a vindication legacy. There is no single EU-wide price, because succession law stays national.
What a will covers, and what it misses
A will governs the legal disposition of probate property. It names who receives what, appoints an executor, and can nominate a guardian for minor children. Trusts can add ongoing management, creditor protection and tax planning.
It does not control every asset. Jointly held property, payable-on-death accounts, life insurance and retirement accounts pass by beneficiary designation, outside the will. You can have a valid will and still have major assets moving around it.
- Life insurance, pensions and payable-on-death accounts that pass by beneficiary designation.
- Online accounts, email and cloud storage, each governed by its own platform rules.
- Device passcodes and two-factor codes your family cannot reproduce.
- Crypto with no key or recovery phrase recorded anywhere.
Digital property is the hardest part. In the US, RUFADAA sets a three-tier order: a provider's online tool first, then your will or power of attorney, then the terms of service. There is no EU-wide equivalent. Regulation 650/2012 helps heirs prove their status across borders, but GDPR Recital 27 says the GDPR does not cover deceased people and leaves their data to each member state, so access stays fragmented.
Platforms then apply their own rules. Google will not provide passwords and points to its Inactive Account Manager. Apple may require a court order and cannot remove a device passcode without erasing the device, because the lock is tied to encryption. This is why lawyers tell you to keep a separate inventory, and why you should not put passwords in a will: probate can make the will public.
The waiting problem
Even a clean will does not give quick access. California says formal probate usually takes 9 to 18 months. In England and Wales the grant of probate usually arrives within 12 weeks, but administration continues after that, and banks are asked to freeze sole accounts until someone proves authority. Your family waits through all of it.
How common this is
Only 24% of US adults had a will in Caring's 2025 survey. The UK's 2025 National Wills Report put will-holders at 37%. In Poland, CBOS found 8% had made a will. On the digital side, Trust & Will's 2026 survey found 48% of Americans have no instructions for their digital accounts, and 23% of people who do have a will still made none.
The friction is real even when the law is on your side. In Germany, the Federal Court of Justice ruled in 2018 that a deceased teenager's Facebook account was inheritable, after her parents had been denied access. In one UK case, a widow who was the executor of her husband's will still needed a court order and about a year of legal wrangling to reach his Apple account. And when Quadriga founder Gerald Cotten died in 2018, roughly C$180 million in crypto was frozen because he was reportedly the only person who held the keys. Legal entitlement and actual access are not the same thing.
Lawyer and LegacyApp, side by side
| Lawyer / estate plan | LegacyApp | |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | Legal transfer of assets, executor, guardian for minors, trusts, powers of attorney. | An encrypted list of what exists, where it is, and what to do with it. |
| Typical cost | US $300 to $5,000+, UK £180 to £420 for a will, EU notarial fees from about €135. | Free plan with no card; paid Premium and GOLD tiers. |
| Keeping it current | Review every year or two; a UK codicil is £70 to £200. | You update the notes in the app yourself, anytime. |
| What triggers access | A legal event: death plus probate, or incapacity plus a power of attorney. | A missed check-in, then release only after your Trusted People confirm. |
| Verification of death | Death certificate, then probate or court documents; some platforms want a court order. | Trusted People must confirm; a single "no" stops the release. |
| Digital accounts & crypto | Can be authorised, but platforms still control access and crypto needs the keys. | Records where accounts and keys are, without holding the passwords or keys. |
| If you are incapacitated | A strength: a power of attorney or LPA lets someone act while you are alive. | Built around a death or non-response handoff, not a legal substitute for a power of attorney. |
Where LegacyApp fits
LegacyApp handles the second layer: the current, encrypted list of what you have and how to reach it. You keep encrypted notes on your phone, with an encrypted backup in your own Google Drive or iCloud. Nothing sits on LegacyApp's servers, and the operator cannot read your notes.
It does not store your passwords or keys. It records what exists, where it is, and what to do with each item. The app checks in from time to time. If you stop responding, the person you chose gets access to what you decided to share, but only after your Trusted People confirm something happened. A single "no" stops it. You choose who receives what, and when. The free plan needs no card and does not expire.
LegacyApp keeps an encrypted note of what you have and how to reach it, without ever holding your passwords.
Bottom line: who should choose what
See a lawyer first when you need legally operative documents: a valid will or trust, a named executor, a guardian for minor children, tax planning, or a power of attorney for incapacity. That last point matters. A will does nothing while you are alive, and powers of attorney and health directives are built for the years you might be unable to act. LegacyApp does not replace any of this.
Use a digital legacy plan when you want your family to actually find and use what you leave: accounts, subscriptions, crypto, photos, the practical detail a will leaves out. Do not put that in the will itself, since probate can make it public.
For most people it is not a choice between the two. The lawyer makes your wishes legally binding. LegacyApp keeps the working details current and reachable. If you already have a will and can do one more thing this month, it is almost certainly the digital inventory. If you have neither, get the will drafted and set up the inventory next to it.
Questions & answers
The short version, for people (and assistants) in a hurry.
Do I just need a lawyer, or also a digital inventory?
Usually both. Legal documents give authority and define ownership, but they do not tell your family what digital assets exist or how to satisfy each platform's access rules.
Can a will alone give my executor access to Gmail, iCloud or social media?
Not reliably. In the US, RUFADAA puts provider tools and explicit consent first, Google will not provide passwords, and Apple may require a court order.
Should I put passwords or private keys in my will?
No. A will can become public during probate, and direct login can be unlawful under a platform's terms even when relatives know the credentials. Keep the passwords in a password manager and the map of where they are somewhere private.
What if I am alive but incapacitated, not dead?
That is where the lawyer route is clearly stronger. Powers of attorney, LPAs, trusts with successor trustees and health directives are built for incapacity. Without them, family may need a court-appointed guardian or deputy.
How often does a will go stale, and what does an update cost?
Review it every year or two, and after marriage, divorce, a child, a house move or an executor dying. In the UK a solicitor codicil is £70 to £200; bigger changes usually need a new will.
