Legals

Last updated: 9 November 2026. Terms of Use and Fees & Services dated 9 November 2026; Privacy Policy dated 9 November 2026.

Terms of Use

1. About Willzee

Willzee NZ Limited (“Willzee”, “we”, “our”, “us”) provides an online platform that helps individuals document their testamentary wishes and related estate information. Willzee is not a law firm and does not provide personalised legal advice. Our service simplifies document preparation and works with Willzee legal partners to finalise, verify and administer Wills.

Willzee offers two service levels: Willzee Free and Willzee Smart (made up of Willzee Smart Start and Willzee Smart Managed). These are described in Willzee’s Fees & Services, which form part of these Terms.

2. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the Willzee platform, you agree to these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, you must not use our services. You accept Willzee’s Fees & Services when you complete your Foundation Will, and that acceptance is recorded with your Will.

3. Use of Services

You agree to use Willzee only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You are responsible for ensuring that the information you provide is accurate and complete. Willzee may suspend or restrict access if your use is unlawful or disruptive.

4. Legal Status of Documents

Documents created through Willzee record your testamentary intentions from the moment they are created. They are stored with version control and timestamps as evidence of those intentions.

A Will becomes legally valid under section 11 of the Wills Act 2007 once it is signed and witnessed in accordance with that Act. Willzee provides the tools and guidance to complete this step and strongly recommends you do so.

If you die before your Will is signed and witnessed, the High Court may declare the document valid under section 14 of the Wills Act 2007 where it is satisfied the document expresses your testamentary intentions. Validation under section 14 is at the Court’s discretion and cannot be guaranteed.

Willzee’s records, version control, timestamps and electronic acknowledgments are designed to support an application under section 14 where a Will has not been signed and witnessed at the date of death. By using Willzee you acknowledge that validation under section 14 remains at the Court’s discretion and cannot be guaranteed, and that completing the recommended signing steps gives your Will the strongest legal standing.

If you use Willzee Free, the responsibility for ensuring your Will is compliant and validly executed rests with you. If you are unsure, you should seek independent legal advice, or advice through a Willzee legal partner via Willzee Smart Start.

5. Executors, Beneficiaries, Other Trusted Contacts and Helpers

Where you nominate executors, beneficiaries or other individuals, you confirm that you have consent to provide their personal information. Willzee may contact those individuals only for purposes directly related to your Will and in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

If you invite someone to help you make your Will, they sign in with their own email address but no Willzee account or Will is created for them. They can see and change all the answers in your draft Will until you confirm it or remove them in your Will Centre. You are responsible for choosing someone you trust. Willzee records what a helper changes, and that record stays with your Will.

6. Fees

There is nothing to pay during your lifetime to create and update your Foundation Will through Willzee Free. Your lifetime service is paid for once, from your estate, after death, as set out in Willzee’s Fees & Services, which form part of these Terms.

Willzee Smart is an optional paid service described in the Fees & Services.

All fees are stated in New Zealand dollars inclusive of GST unless expressly stated otherwise.

7. Changes to Services

Willzee may update its platform features, functionality and these Terms of Use from time to time. Changes to fees are governed by Willzee’s Fees & Services.

8. Limitation of Liability

To the extent permitted by law, Willzee is not liable for loss arising from use of the platform, except where caused by Willzee’s proven negligence or breach of contract.

Willzee provides tools and guidance to assist with the preparation and management of documents, but you remain responsible for reviewing, executing and storing your Will in accordance with New Zealand law.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Willzee’s total liability to you or your estate, arising from or in connection with the platform or services, will not exceed the total fees paid to Willzee for the relevant services.

9. Intellectual Property

All content, design and software within Willzee are the property of Willzee NZ Limited. You retain ownership of your Will and any personal content you provide.

10. Suspension, Termination and Deletion

Willzee may suspend or terminate access to the platform where there is a breach of these Terms, misuse of the platform, or where Willzee elects to discontinue the platform or a specific service.

You may request termination of your account or deletion of your data at any time by contacting support@willzee.com.

Deleting your account or data ends Willzee’s lifetime service. Once deleted, no fee is payable unless records Willzee is required by law to retain are later used or relied upon in the administration of your estate, in which case the Fees & Services apply.

11. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of New Zealand.

Fees & Services

1. The Fair Value Exchange

These Fees & Services apply to every Willzee customer at every service level, including Willzee Free. Together with the Terms of Use, they form your agreement with Willzee. You accept them when you complete your Foundation Will.

Willzee is built so every New Zealander can make a Will without paying anything while they are alive. Your Foundation Will, updates for life, secure storage, version control and estate readiness are provided now and paid for once, from your estate, after death. Fees paid from estates fund free Wills for everyone, which is why they apply to every customer.

Your executor decides how that fee is paid. Either Willzee administers your estate and the estate administration fee applies, another provider administers it and the release fee applies, or, for a small estate without a grant, your executor uses Willzee’s Small Estate Service and its fee applies. These are different prices for the same lifetime service. Only one ever applies, and none is a penalty.

2. What Lifetime Service Includes

While your account remains active, Willzee provides:

Creation and maintenance of your Foundation Will and Schedules

Secure digital storage of Wills and Schedules

Version control and timestamping

Evidentiary record-keeping

Readiness support for probate and estate administration

Willzee legal partners. Willzee works with law firms that have agreed Willzee’s partner terms, including a fixed fee for standard estate administration, the preferred hourly rate, and no markup or referral payment. Where you or your executor choose a specific Willzee legal partner, that firm is engaged; otherwise Willzee allocates one.

Preferred hourly rate. Willzee’s preferred hourly rate is $290. The same rate applies to services provided by Willzee and by a Willzee legal partner, is agreed with you or your executor before any chargeable work begins, and is billed by whichever of them does the work. During your lifetime, the preferred hourly rate and the additional documents (Enduring Power of Attorney, Advance Care and Contracting Out) are available only to Willzee Smart customers: during your Smart Start period, and while a Smart Managed subscription is current. After death, the preferred hourly rate applies to every estate administered by Willzee, whatever the Will Maker’s service level.

3. Willzee Free

Nothing to pay during your lifetime for the do-it-yourself drafting and updating of your Will, Schedules and the compiled Will & Wishes package. Willzee will use best endeavours to keep this so, but cannot guarantee it indefinitely.

Willzee Free is a self-service product. The risk and onus of producing a compliant, validly executed Will rest with you. Willzee provides tools, guidance and structure, but does not review your circumstances or give advice under Willzee Free. If your situation is complex or you are unsure, seek independent legal advice, or advice through a Willzee legal partner via Willzee Smart Start.

4. Willzee Smart

Willzee Smart is Willzee’s paid service, made up of Willzee Smart Start and Willzee Smart Managed. Smart Start can be taken on its own. Smart Managed is only available after a Smart Start.

Willzee Smart Start. A one-off service. Fee: $240, payable in advance. Your Smart Start period runs for three months from the date your Smart Start payment is received. During that period you complete your Foundation Will with Willzee’s support and may take up Smart Managed.

Smart Start includes up to one hour of Willzee’s service, covering review of your material, liaison with you, preparation of your file and handover to a Willzee legal partner, together with the legal partner’s review of your prepared file, including up to 15 minutes of reading and the provision of an estimate. By purchasing Smart Start you authorise Willzee to provide your file to a Willzee legal partner for legal review and advice. From that point the legal partner works directly with you, seeks your approval before any additional chargeable work, and bills you directly at the preferred hourly rate. Where the legal partner prepares an updated or customised Will, including any annexure, they may, with your consent, return it to Willzee for storage and ongoing management. Enduring Power of Attorney, Advance Care and Contracting Out documents are available on request through Smart Start, reviewed and customised by the legal partner at the preferred hourly rate. Willzee’s own services beyond the included hour are charged at the preferred hourly rate.

Second person. A Smart Start covers you and one other person, typically your partner. Each of you has your own account and your own Foundation Will. The Smart Start period and included hour of service are shared between you, and the legal partner’s file read covers one or both files as needed.

Willzee Smart Managed. An ongoing subscription. You may take up Smart Managed at any time during your Smart Start period. If you do not, a new Smart Start is required to join later.

Smart Managed costs $60 a quarter, or $30 a quarter for the second person while both subscriptions are current, charged together on the first person’s bill. Your first payment is due at the end of your Smart Start period and every three months after that. The $30 rate applies only where both people take up Smart Managed together, on one bill from the same payment date. A second person who joins later takes their own subscription at $60 a quarter.

While your subscription is current, you receive:

Up to one hour of Willzee’s service per subscription year, covering an annual review to discuss changes in your life circumstances that may affect your Will and wishes, and related liaison

Continued access to a Willzee legal partner at the preferred hourly rate, billed by the legal partner directly to you

Access to Enduring Power of Attorney, Advance Care and Contracting Out documents on demand, reviewed and customised by the legal partner at the preferred hourly rate

Eligibility for the estate fee reduction in section 9

You can cancel at any time in your Will Centre; your cover continues until the end of the quarter you have paid for, and no further payments are taken. If the first person’s subscription ends for any reason, the second person may continue on their own bill at $60 a quarter.

If a payment fails, we will try again and let you know, and your subscription stays current for 14 days after the due date. If payment has not been made by then, your subscription lapses, all benefits end, and the estate administration fee reduction no longer applies. Because the two subscriptions are charged together, a failed payment lapses both. To rejoin, you must complete a new Smart Start, and the 12 months of continuous membership needed for the reduction start again from that Smart Start payment. Willzee’s own services beyond the included hour are charged at the preferred hourly rate.

5. How the Lifetime Service Is Paid

When you complete your Foundation Will, you record your preferred estate administration partner: Willzee, or another provider. Your choice is recorded whether or not your Will has been signed and witnessed. Your executor keeps full legal authority and discretion to decide how your estate is administered.

Whichever option your executor chooses, one fee is payable from the estate before any distribution to beneficiaries: the estate administration fee where Willzee administers (section 6), the release fee where another provider administers (section 7), or the Small Estate Service fee where your executor uses that service (section 8). Only one applies.

Willzee administers your estate only where your executor engages Willzee. If your executor engages any other provider directly, including a Willzee legal partner, or deals with the estate without engaging Willzee and without using the Small Estate Service, the release fee applies. A Willzee legal partner’s preferred rates apply only when the partner is engaged through Willzee.

These fees apply wherever Willzee’s records are used or relied upon in the administration of your estate, whether your Will was signed and witnessed, electronically acknowledged only, or remained in draft at the date of death. This includes where Willzee’s records support an application under section 14 of the Wills Act 2007, or inform the administration of an estate where no formally executed Will exists. Where a Will has not been signed and witnessed, additional legal work is usually required to obtain a grant, including an application under section 14; that work is outside standard estate administration and is charged under section 10.

The fees apply to the lifetime service you have received, whether or not Willzee is still your preferred administration partner at the date of death.

6. Option One: Willzee Administers Your Estate

Where your executor engages Willzee, the fee payable (in today’s terms) is the greater of $5,800 or 1.0% of the estate value, capped at $30,000. It is payable from the estate before distribution to beneficiaries.

Estate value means the assets requiring administration. Willzee may include assets passing by survivorship, nomination or trust where they were, in Willzee’s reasonable assessment, arranged in a way that reduces the estate value for the purpose of these fees.

The fee comprises a Willzee service fee and a legal partner service fee, itemised separately on invoices to the executor. Legal work is carried out by a Willzee legal partner at pre-agreed rates: a fixed fee for standard administration, and the preferred hourly rate for work outside that scope. Willzee adds no markup to any legal partner fee and receives no commission or referral fee from any legal partner. The legal partner bills its component directly to the estate, as required under New Zealand law.

7. Option Two: Another Provider Administers Your Estate

Where your estate is administered by another provider (whether chosen by the executor or by any other person entitled to act), the release fee is payable to Willzee from the estate before any distribution to beneficiaries. It is the deferred price of your Will and the lifetime service already provided, paid in place of the estate administration fee.

The release fee is 65% of the estate administration fee that would otherwise have applied, being no less than $3,770 and no more than $19,500 (in today’s terms). For example, on an estate of $1,000,000 the administration fee would be $10,000 and the release fee is $6,500. The 65% removes the legal partner’s share, which pays for administration work that will not be done, and leaves Willzee’s own share of the fee for the service already provided. Estate value is determined as in section 6.

The release fee applies to all customers regardless of service level or subscription status, subject to the Smart Managed reduction in section 9.

On payment, Willzee will provide the executor or administrator with the complete estate file within 10 business days: the current Will and all prior versions, the acknowledgment record, completed Schedules, the compiled Will & Wishes where one exists, and a handover summary. This is included in the release fee. Where a transfer requires work beyond the standard file (for example, reconstruction of records or unusual verification), that work is charged at the preferred hourly rate and agreed with the executor before it starts. Once handover is complete, Willzee has no further responsibility for the administration of the estate.

8. Small Estate Service

Where an estate is worth no more than $100,000 and can be wound up without a grant of probate or letters of administration, your executor may use Willzee’s Small Estate Service instead of engaging Willzee or another provider to administer the estate. Under section 65 of the Administration Act 1969, a bank, insurer, KiwiSaver or superannuation provider or trustee company may pay out up to $40,000 held for a deceased person without a grant, at its own discretion and using its own claim form. Land or a house in the Will Maker’s sole name generally needs a grant.

What Willzee provides. Once the executor has notified Willzee of the death, confirmed in Willzee’s declaration the estate value and that no grant has been obtained, and paid the fee, Willzee delivers a Small Estate Pack within 5 business days. The pack contains a cover letter for each bank, KiwiSaver provider and insurer recorded in the Will Maker’s assets schedule; a copy of the Will with instructions for having a certified copy made from the signed original; a checklist of what each institution needs; a plain-language explanation of the indemnity in each institution’s claim form and what signing it means; and guidance on what to do if an institution requires a grant after all.

What the executor does. Willzee prepares the documents. The executor checks them, obtains each institution’s current claim form, completes and signs it, has signatures witnessed where required, and sends everything to each institution. Willzee does not act as executor and does not deal with institutions on the executor’s behalf. The cover letters are based on information the Will Maker gave Willzee, and the executor must check every detail. The copy of the Will held by Willzee is not the signed original, and certified copies must be made from the signed original.

What Willzee does not guarantee. Willzee does not guarantee that any institution will pay without a grant; that is the institution’s decision. Signing an institution’s indemnity can make the executor personally liable for the estate’s debts. Willzee’s explanation of the indemnity is general information, not legal advice, and the executor should get independent legal advice if unsure. Further help from Willzee or a Willzee legal partner is charged at the preferred hourly rate. The Small Estate Service itself does not involve a Willzee legal partner.

Fee. The Small Estate Service fee is the lesser of $2,000 or 4% of the estate value, or, where the Will Maker qualifies for the Smart Managed reduction at the date of death, the lesser of $1,000 or 2% (in today’s terms). The estate value is the value the executor confirms in Willzee’s declaration. For example, on an estate of $20,000 the fee is $800 ($400 with the reduction); on $40,000 it is $1,600 ($800); on $80,000 it is $2,000 ($1,000). The fee is paid by the executor before the pack is released and is a debt of the estate. It is paid in place of the estate administration fee and the release fee.

If a grant is needed after all. If the estate value is found to exceed $100,000, the Small Estate Service fee stays payable for the work already done, and the estate administration fee or release fee applies in addition, depending on who then administers the estate. If the estate qualified but an institution requires a grant, the estate administration fee or release fee applies, less the Small Estate Service fee already paid.

9. The Smart Managed Reduction

Where, at the date of death, your Smart Managed subscription is current and more than 12 months have passed since your Smart Start payment was received, the estate administration fee is the greater of $2,900 or 0.5% of the estate value, capped at $15,000; the release fee is 65% of that reduced fee, being no less than $1,885 and no more than $9,750; and the Small Estate Service fee is the lesser of $1,000 or 2% of the estate value (all in today’s terms). Where either condition is not met, the standard fees apply. A subscription within the 14-day period after a missed payment, or within a paid quarter after cancellation, counts as current.

10. Scope of Estate Administration and Additional Services

The standard administration fee covers routine, non-complex probate and estate administration: standard court filings, executor support, communication with the High Court, identification and collection of straightforward New Zealand-based assets, closure of financial accounts, and preparation of an administration summary.

Matters outside standard administration include overseas assets or executors, disputes or contested estates, trust-related work, business or corporate assets, cross-border issues, insolvent estates, applications under section 14 of the Wills Act 2007, and any matter requiring material legal analysis or bespoke drafting. These are charged separately at the preferred hourly rate, through Willzee or a Willzee legal partner, and discussed with and approved by the executor before the work is undertaken. The same rate applies to all estates administered by Willzee regardless of the Will Maker’s service level. Willzee is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice; legal services are provided and billed by the legal partner directly.

11. Payment and Collection

Where Willzee administers an estate, the Willzee service fee is paid from the estate before distribution, and the Willzee legal partner invoices its component directly to the estate under its own terms of engagement. Where Willzee is not administering, including where the release fee or Small Estate Service fee applies, Willzee may issue invoices to the executor or the other provider. Willzee and its legal partners may require payment before releasing documents or completing requested services, to the extent permitted by law. Invoices are payable within the period stated on the invoice.

12. Insolvent or Underfunded Estates

If an estate is insolvent or lacks liquid assets to meet administration costs, Willzee and its legal partners may request information to assess solvency, pause services until funding is confirmed, or decline to commence or continue services. Where estate funds are insufficient, the person instructing Willzee or a Willzee legal partner, including an executor, may become personally responsible for unrecoverable fees.

13. Fee Reviews and Changes

The fees that apply to your estate are those published at the date of death. The structure of the fees you accepted (the percentage of estate value, the 65% release fee, the Smart Managed reduction and the relationship between them) will not change for you. The dollar floors, caps, service fees, the Small Estate Service fee and preferred hourly rate may be adjusted from time to time to reflect changes in the cost of providing the services.

Willzee may update these Fees & Services at any time. Where a change materially affects existing customers, Willzee will notify them. The current version is always published at willzee.com/legals#fees-services.

14. Currency, Tax and Governing Law

All fees are stated in New Zealand dollars, inclusive of GST at the prevailing rate. These Fees & Services are governed by the laws of New Zealand.

Privacy Policy

1. Our Commitment

Willzee respects your privacy and protects your personal information in line with the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 and recognised international best practice.

2. What We Collect

We collect information that you provide when using Willzee, such as your name, contact details, date of birth, sign-in details (your email address, and one-time codes sent to it), nominated executors, beneficiaries, other trusted contacts, and the content of your Will and related Schedules. We also collect limited technical data (for example, device type and IP address) to improve security and performance, and, as described in section 5, analytics and advertising measurement data. We record the date, time and document version of each electronic acknowledgment you or your nominated contacts make.

If you sign in with Google, we receive your email address and a Google account identifier from Google. We use them only to identify your account and sign you in. We do not receive your Google password, and we do not use Google data for any other purpose or share it with anyone other than the service providers who host our platform.

If you ask someone to help you make your Will, or someone asks you to help them, we collect that person’s name and email address to send one invitation. If the invitation is not accepted within 30 days, we delete those details. If the person asks us not to contact them, we keep only a scrambled version of their email address that cannot be read, so we can make sure we never contact them again. If the invitation is accepted, we keep a helper record with the Will: the helper’s name, email address, relationship to the Will Maker, whether they said they are named in the Will, when they were invited and when their access ended, and which answers they changed. This record forms part of the Will’s audit trail and is kept for as long as the Will record is kept.

3. How We Use Your Information

To create and store your Will and related documents

To prepare documents for your executor after your death, including cover letters and checklists, using the information in your Will and Schedules

To sign you in and keep your account secure, using your email address, one-time codes and, where you choose it, Google sign-in

To send a single invitation when a customer asks someone to help them make their Will, or asks to help someone else, and to record what a helper changed as part of the Will’s audit trail

To communicate with you about your account or services

To verify your identity where required

To notify executors, beneficiaries or other trusted contacts when you have authorised us to do so

To record your acceptance of Willzee’s Terms and Fees & Services and your electronic acknowledgments

To understand how our website and app are used and to measure our advertising, as described in section 5

To improve our services and comply with legal obligations

4. Storage and Security

We store your information using secure, trusted cloud service providers that meet recognised international security standards and comply with New Zealand privacy law. Depending on the services used, data may be processed or stored in different regions.

All data is encrypted when it is sent and when it is stored, and access is restricted to authorised systems and people only.

We regularly review and update our security measures to ensure your information remains protected as our service evolves.

5. Analytics and Advertising

We use Google Analytics on our website and calculators to understand how people use them, such as which pages are visited and where people drop out. On our website we also use Microsoft Clarity, which records how visitors move around a page (clicks, scrolling and mouse movement) so we can improve it. These services receive technical data, including your IP address and device information, and set cookies to recognise your browser. We never send them the amounts you enter in our calculators.

We use Google and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) tools to measure whether our advertising works. Our website, our calculators and the signed-out screens of our app use the Meta pixel, which tells Meta which pages were visited. When you sign up, complete the main steps of your Will, confirm it, record that it’s signed, or buy Smart Start, we tell Meta that the event happened. With these events we send your IP address, browser details and Meta’s own cookie identifiers, and, if you signed up with your email address, a scrambled version of it, so Meta can match the event to an ad you may have seen. We never send Google or Meta the content of your Will, your estate figures, the names of your executors or beneficiaries, or any other detail from your Will.

Google, Meta and Microsoft process this information outside New Zealand under their own privacy policies. You can manage your advertising preferences directly with Google and Meta, and block or clear cookies in your browser settings.

6. Sharing Your Information

We only share your information where it is necessary to provide the services you have requested or as described in section 5. This may include sharing with:

Willzee legal partners, who assist with carrying out your wishes and administering your estate

A Willzee legal partner, where you have purchased a Willzee Smart Start and authorised Willzee to provide your file (and, where your Smart Start covers a second person, their file) to the partner for legal review and advice

Technology providers who host or support our platform, under strict confidentiality and security obligations

Google, Meta and Microsoft, for analytics and advertising measurement only, as described in section 5

Executors, beneficiaries or other trusted contacts you choose to nominate for sharing or acknowledgment purposes, limited to the sections of your Will you have chosen to share with each of them

A helper you have invited, who can see and change all the answers in your draft Will until you confirm it or remove them, but can never see your confirmed Will, its documents, signing pages or payment details

Your executor or estate administrator after your death, in accordance with Willzee’s Fees & Services

We never sell personal information.

We may use de-identified, aggregated data that cannot reasonably be traced back to you to improve our service, support public education, or share general insights about estate planning trends.

7. Retention and Deletion

We retain your personal information for as long as your account or estate record remains active, or for as long as required to meet legal or regulatory obligations.

You may request deletion of your information where it is no longer required, subject to any legal retention requirements. The effect of deletion on Willzee’s services and fees is set out in the Terms of Use.

8. Your Rights

You may request access to or correction of your personal information at any time by contacting privacy@willzee.com.

9. Data Breach Notification

In the unlikely event of a breach, we will notify affected users and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner as required by law.

10. Updates

This policy may be updated from time to time. The latest version will always be available at willzee.com/legals#privacy.

11. Governing Law

This Policy is governed by the laws of New Zealand.

Copyright & Intellectual Property Notice

All content, software, text, graphics, documents and materials within Willzee are copyright © to Willzee NZ Limited (Company No. 9384480). You may use Willzee content only for personal, non-commercial purposes related to creating and managing your own Will. No part of the site or materials may be reproduced, adapted, or distributed without written permission.

User Documents

You retain ownership of your personal Will and any other documents created using our platform. By uploading or submitting information to Willzee, you grant us a licence to securely store, process, and transmit it solely for the purpose of providing our services.

Trademarks

“Willzee” and associated marks are trademarks of Willzee NZ Limited (Company No. 9384480). All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners.