Partnership will help Meridian Members create a will online
Toronto, ON - Today Meridian, Ontario’s largest credit union and second largest in Canada announced new partnerships with both LegalWills.ca and Willful, two of Canada’s leading online estate planning companies. An Angus Reid survey found that 57% of Ontarians don’t have a will, and of those who do, 1 in 10 are out of date. This partnership will empower Meridian's more than 360,000 Members to complete their will, power of attorney documents, and other estate plans online using LegalWills.ca and Willful’s guided tools for a fraction of the cost of visiting a lawyer.
“At Meridian we strive to give our Members confidence and peace of mind about their finances, and that includes preparing for the unexpected. Partnering with digital will providers is just one way we’re making financial planning more simplified and affordable,” says Kirsten Sonius, Vice President, Retail Banking, Meridian. “The younger you are, the less likely you are to have a will, so we hope this partnership encourages our members of all ages to create or update their will.”
Meridian has launched a new online resource centre to educate Members about getting their will and other estate planning documents online. Members can get an exclusive discount on creating a will with LegalWills.ca or Willful, and can explore content about the importance of a will, power of attorney documents, and other end-of-life plans.
“As the millennial mom of a young daughter, I hope this partnership spreads the word about the importance of protecting our loved ones through a will, since we know the majority of Canadians - especially young Canadians - haven’t created this important document, and cost is a major barrier,” said Erin Bury, CEO, Willful.
“With hundreds of millions in unclaimed estates in Canada alone and the potential for disputes over caring for dependent children, partnerships like this increase accessibility and affordability to estate planning and peace of mind,” said Tim Hewson, CEO, LegalWills.ca.
Both LegalWills.ca and Willful bring the estate planning process online, helping Canadians create wills, power of attorney documents, and other estate planning documents online. Their documents are designed by lawyers to adhere to all provincial regulations. Both company’s platforms guide users through a series of questions about their life situation and help them appoint key roles in their will, including executors, beneficiaries, and guardians. Customers are presented with a set of customized PDF documents that can be executed as per provincial requirements. Both platforms also allow Canadians to go beyond the will to create supporting legal documents including power of attorney documents, and to record other end-of-life wishes including funeral and burial wishes, and a list of assets for their executor.
About Willful
Willful is on a mission to change the way Canadians prepare for and deal with death. Their platform makes it affordable, convenient, and easy for Canadians to create a legal will and other estate planning documents online. Willful’s platform was developed in collaboration with leading estate lawyers, and has pricing plans starting at $99. Willful is based in Toronto, and it is currently available to residents of Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Manitoba. Since launching in 2017, Willful has helped Canadians create over 100,000 documents. To get started, visit www.illful.co.
About LegalWills.ca
LegalWills.ca is an online platform offering tools and resources to make estate planning more accessible and affordable for Canadians. They were the first dedicated online estate planning platform in Canada, and have created over half a million Wills and other legal documents since launching in 2000. LegalWills.ca is based in Ottawa and serves customers in all 13 provinces and territories across Canada in both English and French. Pricing for peace of mind starts at $39.95. For more information please visit: www.legalwills.ca.
About Meridian
We acknowledge the land on which we operate is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.
With more than 75 years of banking history, Meridian is Ontario's largest credit union, and second largest in Canada, helping to grow the lives of our more than 360,000 Members. Meridian has $29.5 billion in assets under management (September 30, 2022) and delivers a full range of financial services online, by phone, by mobile and through a network of 89 branches across Ontario, and business banking services in 15 locations. Meridian cardholders also have access to over 43,000 surcharge-free ABMs in North America with THE EXCHANGE® Network and the Allpoint Network in the US. For more information, please visit: meridiancu.ca, follow us on Twitter @MeridianCU or visit us on Facebook.
For more information please contact:
Candace Huntly, 416-721-6858, media@legalwills.ca
Erin Bury, erin@willful.co
Teresa Pagnutti, teresa.pagnutti@meridiancu.ca; 416-275-3816