OneWill platform launched to ease cost, stress of writing a will

An Adelaide start-up has launched a new digital platform aimed at making it easier and cheaper to write a will.

Many people put off writing a will, sometimes until it's too late, but an Adelaide start-up has launched a new digital platform aimed at making it easier and cheaper to get their estate planning in order.

OneWill founder Nima Asadi Khomami said the app his company has developed enabled users to create an affordable and high-quality will at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.

Features including video and voice recordings that can be left with loved ones following a user’s death are also built into the platform.

Mr Asadi Khomami said he started working on the idea in 2017 after trying to help his parents sort out their own estate plans.

Nima Asadi Khomami with wife Vivian and son Ari, 6. Mr Asadi Khomami has developed an app, OneWill, which allows users to prepare their will online. Picture: Morgan Sette

“We got ourselves some will kits and downloaded the Power of Attorney documents - I was literally stumped at the second question on the Power of Attorney template and I thought there has to be a better way,” he said.

“I searched for an app or website that made the job easier but I couldn’t find one. Even though my parents got their estate plans done by a lawyer, I couldn’t shake the idea that there needed to be an easier way.

“Our goal is to make estate planning easy and more accessible for the more than one in two Australians who do not currently have a will. Leaving a legacy shouldn’t be hard, and it shouldn’t be expensive.”

OneWill enables users to complete their online will in just 20 minutes, and from as low as $145, with two years of free updates.

Mr Asadi Khomami said Power of Attorney functionality would be released shortly, followed by an advanced care directive capability, rounding out the “three main pillars of an estate plan”.

Digitised estate planning is an emerging industry in Australia, and has recently attracted the attention of major investor groups.

Last October Sydney-based Safewill raised $3m in Series A funding from investors including Westpac’s Reinventure Fund.

And just last month a similar offering, Willed, scored $6m from a list of institutional investors including Thorney Investment Group, Ellerston Capital and Bell Potter’s Hugh Robertson.

Mr Asadi Khomami said further refinements to the OneWill platform would be made before he reached out to potential investors.

“I am currently really focused on making the business proposition as appealing as possible so that when we come to cross that bridge we are able to attract not just capital but the investors that are able to propel OneWill further than we have gone so far.”

Mr Asadi Khomami said he was also seeking to partner with not-for-profit organisations and charities in an effort to raise awareness about the importance of preparing a will.