Most estate planning content is written for a general audience, not for someone whose estate includes a Shopify store, supplier relationships, and an ad account with real spend history. I run E-Commerce Paradise, where I cover business formation for high-ticket dropshipping, and here are the estate planning tools that actually make sense once you own an online business.
Protect the Business You’ve Already Built
Trust & Will’s Trust Plan includes step-by-step guidance for funding your trust with your LLC and other business assets.
If you’re running a high-ticket dropshipping store, chances are your estate looks nothing like the generic examples in most estate planning guides. This list is built around the specific needs of online entrepreneurs.
1. Trust & Will
Trust & Will earns the top spot specifically because of its Trust Plan’s dedicated funding guide, a walkthrough for actually retitling assets, including LLC membership interests, into your trust after you’ve created the documents. Pricing runs $199 for a basic Will Plan and $499 for the Trust Plan, with optional attorney access through a $299 add-on or Pro membership.
For any business owner whose estate includes more than just personal savings and a house, this specific focus on business asset funding is what separates Trust & Will from more generic will-making tools.
2. LegalZoom
If you already used LegalZoom for your LLC formation, keeping your estate planning under the same account offers real convenience, one login, one customer history. LegalZoom’s estate planning bundles cover wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, though the checkout experience is more prone to upsells than more focused competitors.
3. Rocket Lawyer
Rocket Lawyer works well if you need a broader range of business legal documents beyond estate planning, contracts, lease agreements, and similar, bundled into one recurring membership. For business owners who regularly need new legal documents as their company grows, this ongoing access can be worth the monthly subscription cost.
4. Nolo’s Quicken WillMaker & Trust
The budget pick on this list, running roughly $109 a year for both will and trust document creation. There’s no attorney review at any tier, which makes it a reasonable fit only if your business structure and estate are genuinely simple, a single-member LLC with no complicated ownership arrangements.
Don’t Leave Your LLC Out of Your Estate Plan
Trust & Will’s guided platform helps make sure your business is actually covered, not just your personal assets.
5. Gentreo
Gentreo positions itself as a lower-cost alternative to the bigger names, with will pricing starting around $39.99 and tiered plans for fuller estate plans including trusts. It includes a digital vault similar to Trust & Will’s, useful for storing business account access information alongside legal documents.
6. LivingTrustify
A more narrowly focused platform built specifically around living trust creation. I’ve covered it in a full LivingTrustify review, and it’s worth considering if a trust, not a full estate planning suite, is genuinely all you need right now.
7. Fabric by Gerber Life
A genuinely free basic will tool, owned by Gerber Life Insurance. It doesn’t include power of attorney or healthcare directive documents, so treat it as covering one piece of a full plan rather than a complete solution for a business owner.
8. FreeWill
A nonprofit-funded platform offering a free basic will. Like Fabric, it’s will-only and not built around business asset complexity, but it’s a legitimate zero-cost starting point if your estate is genuinely simple.
9. A Dedicated Estate Planning Attorney
Worth including on this list as the non-software option. A traditional estate attorney typically charges $1,000 to $3,000 or more for a comparable will and trust package, according to cost data cited by Forbes Advisor’s coverage of online will maker pricing. For genuinely complex situations, multiple business entities, contested family dynamics, significant tax planning needs, dedicated legal counsel still beats any templated platform on this list.
What Makes a Tool Actually Good for Business Owners
Not every estate planning tool is built with online entrepreneurs in mind. When evaluating any option beyond this list, look specifically for trust funding guidance (not just document creation), attorney access for anything beyond a straightforward estate, and digital asset planning that accounts for Shopify access, domain registrations, and ad account credentials, not just traditional bank accounts and real estate.
Why This Matters More Once You Own a Business
A basic will names who inherits your assets, but it doesn’t grant anyone authority to actually operate your business while your estate moves through probate. If you’ve spent time building supplier relationships and negotiating terms, a frozen business during probate can mean lost supplier agreements, suspended ad accounts, and months of lost revenue.
A properly funded trust with a named successor trustee solves this by letting someone step in immediately, without waiting on a probate court’s formal appointment process. This is the single biggest reason a trust, not just a will, matters more for business owners than for the general population these tools are usually marketed toward.
What the Data Says About Skipping This Entirely
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, dying without a will (intestacy) hands control of your asset distribution to state law rather than your own wishes, a particularly real risk for anyone with a business partner who isn’t a legal spouse, per CFPB guidance on planning for unexpected events. Whichever tool from this list you choose, having something in place beats having nothing.
The IRS also outlines specific documentation requirements for retitling business ownership into a trust structure, which is why the funding guide matters so much for anyone running an LLC, per IRS guidance on business ownership changes.
How to Choose Between These Options
Start by being honest about your asset picture. If you own an LLC with real revenue, supplier accounts, and ad spend history, prioritize tools with explicit trust funding guidance, Trust & Will, LegalZoom, or a dedicated attorney. If your estate is genuinely simple, one of the free or low-cost options on this list likely covers your actual need without overpaying for complexity you don’t have.
Mistakes to Avoid When Setting This Up
The single most common mistake among online entrepreneurs setting up an estate plan is creating a trust and never actually funding it. A trust document that exists on paper but was never used to retitle your LLC, bank accounts, or property offers essentially no practical advantage over a simple will. If you go the trust route, make sure you actually complete the funding steps, not just the document creation.
The second common mistake is failing to name a successor trustee (or executor, for a will-only plan) who actually understands your business well enough to keep it running temporarily. A trusted family member with zero context on your supplier relationships or ad account structure may struggle to act quickly, even with full legal authority. Consider briefing whoever you name, or at minimum leaving detailed notes alongside your legal documents.
The third mistake is letting a membership lapse without realizing you can no longer edit your documents, then having a major life change go undocumented for years. Set a calendar reminder tied to your membership renewal date so you’re prompted to review your plan annually, even if nothing has changed.
State-by-State Considerations
Estate planning requirements vary by state: witnessing rules, notarization requirements, and community property considerations all differ, and Louisiana in particular operates under an entirely different legal framework rooted in civil law. Most of the tools on this list build state-specific logic into their document generation automatically, but it’s worth double-checking that whichever tool you choose explicitly supports your state before you complete a purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best estate planning tool specifically for ecommerce sellers?
Trust & Will, largely because of its dedicated trust funding guidance for business assets like LLC membership interests.
Do any of these tools address digital business assets?
Trust & Will and Gentreo both include digital vault features that can store Shopify, domain, and ad account access alongside legal documents.
Is the cheapest option ever the right choice for a business owner?
Only if your estate is genuinely simple. Free tools like FreeWill and Fabric don’t address business asset funding, which matters once you own an LLC with real revenue.
Should I hire an attorney instead of using any of these tools?
Only if your situation is genuinely complex, multiple business entities, contested family dynamics, or significant tax planning needs. For a standard LLC and reasonably straightforward family circumstances, these platforms cover the real need at a fraction of attorney costs.
Comparing the Top Picks at a Glance
| Tool | Starting Price | Trust Funding Guidance | Attorney Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust & Will | $199 (Will), $499 (Trust) | Yes, dedicated guide | Add-on or Pro membership |
| LegalZoom | Varies by bundle | Limited | Available as add-on |
| Rocket Lawyer | Monthly membership | Limited | Included with membership |
| Quicken WillMaker & Trust | ~$109/yr | Limited | Not offered |
| Gentreo | ~$39.99 | Limited | Not offered |
| Fabric by Gerber Life | Free (will only) | No | Not offered |
Documents You Actually Need as a Business Owner
Regardless of which tool from this list you pick, a complete estate plan for an ecommerce entrepreneur should include a last will and testament, a durable power of attorney, an advance healthcare directive, and, if your business has real revenue at stake, a revocable living trust with a funding guide for retitling your LLC membership interest. Skipping the trust and relying on a will alone means your business assets, along with everything else, go through probate court before anyone can legally act on your behalf.
Some of the tools on this list, Trust & Will most prominently, also let you name a guardian for minor children as part of the same document set, worth confirming is included if you have kids and haven’t formalized this yet.
The Attorney Question: When You Actually Need One
Most of the tools on this list offer attorney access as an add-on rather than a default inclusion, and it’s worth paying for that access in specific situations: if you have a business partner who isn’t your spouse, if your family situation involves children from a previous relationship, if you own property in multiple states, or if your estate is genuinely large enough that tax planning becomes relevant.
For a straightforward single-member LLC with a simple family situation, the templated document flow on most of these platforms is sufficient without the added attorney cost. When in doubt, the extra few hundred dollars for attorney review is cheap insurance against a mistake that could cost your family far more later.
Digital Business Assets: The Piece Most Estate Plans Miss
Traditional estate planning tools were built before online businesses were common, and it shows. Your estate as an ecommerce seller likely includes Shopify store access, domain registrations, ad account credentials with spending history, supplier portal logins, and possibly cryptocurrency or digital payment accounts. None of that fits neatly into a decades-old will template.
When evaluating any tool on this list, specifically check whether it addresses digital asset access for your executor or trustee. Trust & Will and Gentreo both build this in through digital vault features. Older or more generic platforms may require you to document this separately, which is a step worth taking regardless of which tool you use for the core legal documents.
How Often You Should Revisit Your Estate Plan
Whichever tool you choose, plan to revisit your documents any time your life or business circumstances change meaningfully: a new child, marriage, divorce, forming a new business entity, bringing on a business partner, or a significant increase in revenue or assets. Most of these platforms make updates straightforward through an active membership, but the update itself only happens if you remember to do it, set a recurring reminder rather than assuming it’ll happen automatically.
Bottom Line
Trust & Will remains the strongest overall pick for online business owners specifically, thanks to its focused trust funding guidance and reasonable pricing. If your needs or budget point elsewhere, several of the alternatives on this list are legitimate options depending on how complex your estate actually is.
Whichever tool you choose, pair it with the rest of your business foundation. If you haven’t yet handled business formation or locked in your niche, those decisions matter just as much as protecting what you’ve already built.
Related Articles
Trust & Will Pricing Explained
9 Best Trust & Will Alternatives in 2026
Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and the founder of Ecommerce Paradise, a platform focused on helping entrepreneurs build and scale profitable high-ticket ecommerce and dropshipping businesses. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Trevor specializes in high-ticket dropshipping strategy, niche and product selection, supplier recruiting and onboarding, Google & Bing Shopping ads, ecommerce SEO, and systems-driven automation and scaling. Through Ecommerce Paradise, he provides free education via in-depth guides like How to Start High-Ticket Dropshipping, advanced training through the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass, and fully done-for-you turnkey ecommerce services for entrepreneurs who want a faster, more hands-off path to growth. Trevor is known for emphasizing sustainable, real-world ecommerce models over hype-driven tactics, helping store owners build scalable, sellable, and location-independent brands.
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