When it comes to estate planning, most people think it’s just about creating documents. This comparison looks at how Gentreo and FreeWill approach estate planning—and what that means for you and your family. But in reality, it’s about something much bigger—making sure your family can access, understand, and use your plan when it matters most.

That’s where Gentreo is different.

What Gentreo Offers: A Complete Estate Planning System

Gentreo is designed to help you do more than just create a will. It provides a complete, easy-to-use system to create, organize, store, and share your estate plan throughout your life—and support you through major life moments.

Here’s what you get with Gentreo:

Estate Planning Documents

• Last will and testament
• Living trust and joint living trust
• Financial power of attorney (durable or limited)
• Medical power of attorney (also known as a Health Care Proxy)
  • Healthcare directive
  • Living will
  • HIPAA authorization
• Pet trust
• Pet power of attorney

Digital Family Vault

• Securely store documents and important information
• Keep everything organized in one place
• Access anytime, from anywhere there is internet access

Family Sharing

• Share documents with trusted individuals
• Give access to executors, family members, or agents
• Allow viewing and downloading—but not editing

Instant Access Button

• Quickly access documents shared with you—right from your phone
• Find critical information when you need it most
• Avoid searching through emails or paperwork in urgent moments

Free Technical Coaches

• Get help using the platform
• Ask questions about how to set things up

Ongoing Updates

• Update your documents anytime your membership is current
• Keep your plan current as life changes
• No need to start over

Life Milestone Planning & Partner Connections

Gentreo goes beyond estate planning by helping you navigate important life milestones.

Through Gentreo, you can connect to trusted partners who can help with services related to:

• Having a baby
• Getting married or divorced
• Caring for aging parents
• Travel and major life events
• End-of-life planning and honoring your legacy

This means Gentreo is not just a place to store documents—it’s a platform designed to support you through life’s biggest moments.

Simple, Transparent Pricing

• One clear price
• Everything included

How FreeWill Works

FreeWill, www.freewill.com, is an online estate planning platform that allows users to create basic estate planning documents at no cost to the user. Remember, you get what you pay for, so expecting a great deal of added value may not be a reasonable expectation.

However, it’s important to understand how FreeWill is able to offer its services for free.

FreeWill is funded by nonprofit organizations, and if you choose to include a charitable donation, certain information—like your name and planned gift—may be shared with that organization.

• Hundreds of nonprofits sponsor the platform
• These organizations support FreeWill in exchange for visibility
• Users are often encouraged to consider leaving a charitable gift in their estate plan

This model allows FreeWill to provide tools at no cost while supporting nonprofit fundraising efforts.

FreeWill Estate Planning: What’s Included

FreeWill offers a range of basic estate planning tools, including:

• Last will and testament
• Durable financial power of attorney
• Advance healthcare directive (living will)
• Beneficiary designation tools
• Funeral and end-of-life wishes
• Charitable giving tools (including stock and retirement donations)

FreeWill documents are:

• Tailored to your state
• Designed to meet state-specific legal requirements
• Accompanied by instructions for proper signing (witnesses, notarization, etc.)

Important to know:

While FreeWill is state-specific:

• It uses standardized templates
• It is designed for simple estate plans
• More complex needs (like trusts) may be limited or not available in all states

Key Differences That Matter

1. Free Tools vs. Full Planning System

FreeWill is free—but it operates on a specific model.

FreeWill:

• Free to users
• Funded by nonprofit partnerships
• Encourages charitable giving
• Focused on basic estate planning

Gentreo:

• Paid platform
• No outside sponsorship influence
• Built as a complete, independent planning system
• Focused entirely on helping you and your family

2. Estate Planning vs. Life Milestone Planning

FreeWill helps you create documents.

Gentreo helps you navigate your life.

FreeWill:

• Focused on document creation
• Designed for straightforward situations
• Strong emphasis on charitable giving

Gentreo:

• Built around Life Milestones
• Helps you take action during key life events like:
  • Having a baby
  • Getting married or divorced
  • Caring for aging parents
  • Travel
  • End-of-life planning

Why this matters:

Most people don’t think about estate planning until something happens.

Gentreo is built for those moments.

Instead of asking:
“Do I have a will?”

Gentreo helps you ask:
“What do I need to do right now in my life—and how do I make sure everything is taken care of?”

3. Organization and Real-Life Access

Gentreo is designed to solve a major real-world problem:

Families often can’t find important documents when they need them.

With Gentreo:

• Everything is stored in the Digital Family Vault
• Shared with the right people
• Accessible when it matters most

With FreeWill:

• Documents are created and downloaded
• Storage and organization tools are limited
• No structured family sharing system

4. Depth and Flexibility of Planning

Gentreo provides more complete planning tools:

• Living trusts (including joint trusts)
• Pet trust and pet power of attorney
• Flexible financial power of attorney options

FreeWill focuses on simpler needs:

• Core documents only
• Limited trust availability depending on state

5. Support Experience

Gentreo:

• Free technical coaches
• Guidance throughout the process

FreeWill:

• Self-guided experience
• Limited support options
• No ongoing coaching

6. Ongoing Planning

FreeWill:

• You can return and update documents
• No structured system for ongoing life changes

Gentreo:

• Designed for continuous updates
• Built for long-term planning and life transitions

Estate planning isn’t a moment—it’s a lifetime of decisions.

Most platforms help you create documents once.

Gentreo helps you navigate life as it changes.

Gentreo vs. FreeWill

Feature	Gentreo	FreeWill
Primary Focus	Estate & life planning	Free estate planning tools
Cost	$150 – all included	Free (funded by nonprofits)
Will	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
State-Specific Documents	✅ Yes	✅ Yes (template-based)
Living Trust	✅ Yes (including joint trusts)	⚠️ Yes if in California
Financial Power of Attorney	✅ Durable or limited	✅ Standard
Healthcare Documents	✅ Directive, living will, medical POA	✅ Included
Pet Planning	✅ Pet trust + pet POA	⚠️ Limited
Life Milestone Support	✅ Core focus	❌ Not included
Digital Vault	✅ Full Digital Family Vault	⚠️ Limited
Family Sharing	✅ Built for sharing	❌ Not a core feature
Instant Access	✅ Mobile access to shared documents	❌ Not available
Charitable Giving Tools	⚠️ Not core focus	✅ Core feature
Support	✅ Free technical coaches	⚠️ Limited
Ongoing Planning	✅ Core focus	⚠️ Basic updates only

Why This Decision Matters

Estate planning is not just about creating documents.

It’s about:

• Keeping them updated
• Making sure they’re accessible
• Helping your family know what to do

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose FreeWill if you:

• Want a free way to create a basic will or living trust
• Have a simple estate
• Are interested in charitable giving

Choose Gentreo if you:

• Want a complete estate planning system
• Need to organize and store everything in one place
• Want to share your plan with family
• Want support through life’s major milestones
• Expect your life—and your plan—to change over time

The Bottom Line: Gentreo vs. FreeWill

FreeWill offers a free, state-specific way to create basic estate planning documents and is funded by nonprofit organizations that encourage charitable giving.

Gentreo is built to help you create, organize, update, and share your entire estate plan—while supporting you through life’s biggest moments.

Start Your Estate Plan Today

Don’t just create documents—create a plan your family can actually use.

With Gentreo, everything is organized, accessible, and ready when it matters most.