The Problem with Paper

For generations, important documents lived in a filing cabinet, a fireproof safe, or a manila envelope tucked somewhere in the house. That approach has three fundamental weaknesses: documents can be destroyed, they can be misplaced, and in a crisis โ€” the exact moment they are needed most โ€” they may be completely inaccessible.

House fires destroy birth certificates, marriage licenses, insurance policies, and property deeds. Floods do the same. Burglaries target safes. And even when documents survive physically, executors and family members often spend weeks or months searching for them after a death, sometimes never finding everything. A 2020 study by the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel found that incomplete or missing documentation is one of the most common causes of estate administration delays.

A physical filing cabinet is a single point of failure. If the person who knows where everything is kept becomes incapacitated, the information can be effectively lost โ€” even if the documents still exist. Estate planning is not just about creating the right documents; it is about making sure the right people can find and access them when it matters.

What Encrypted Storage Means

Legati stores your files using AES-256-GCM encryption โ€” the same standard used by financial institutions and government agencies worldwide. AES-256 refers to the Advanced Encryption Standard with a 256-bit key, and GCM (Galois/Counter Mode) adds authenticated encryption, meaning any tampering with an encrypted file is detectable.

Every file you upload is encrypted before it leaves your device, and it remains encrypted at rest in our secure vault. Your encryption key is derived from your password and never stored in plaintext on our servers. That means even in the unlikely event of a server compromise, your files remain unreadable without your key.

Files are stored redundantly across multiple secure locations, so a hardware failure in one location does not put your data at risk. You get the durability of professional infrastructure with the privacy of end-to-end encryption.

Delegates โ€” Giving Trusted People Access

One of the most important features for estate planning is Legati's delegate system. A delegate is someone you designate to access your files โ€” on your terms, when you choose.

Here is how it works: you add a delegate's email address to your account and set the access window. When you activate delegate access, your designated person receives a secure link that allows them to view the files you have made available. They do not need your password. They do not get unlimited access. You remain in control of exactly what they can see and when.

This solves a genuine problem in estate planning: how do you make sure a trusted person can access your documents in an emergency, without handing them your master password or leaving a copy lying around? The delegate model answers that question with a structured, audited access mechanism. Your attorney, your adult child, or your spouse can be granted access to the exact documents they need โ€” your will, your insurance policies, your account information โ€” without ever having the keys to everything else.

The Will Generator โ€” A Useful Starting Point

Legati includes a will generator that walks you through the key components of a last will and testament: naming an executor, specifying beneficiaries, making specific bequests, designating guardians for minor children, and recording your wishes for your remains.

Important: the document produced by Legati's will generator is an informational template, not a substitute for qualified legal advice. Will requirements vary by jurisdiction โ€” witnessing rules, notarisation requirements, and the treatment of specific asset types differ across US states and EU countries. You should review any generated document with a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before relying on it.

That said, a structured template is genuinely useful. It helps you think through every section before you meet with a lawyer, reducing billable time and ensuring you have considered everything. Many people come to an attorney meeting having forgotten to think about digital assets, alternate beneficiaries, or what happens if a named executor predeceases them. Legati's generator prompts you through each of those considerations.

Available for US and EU

Legati is designed for users in both the United States and the European Union. The will generator covers templates relevant to all 50 US states, and includes guidance on EU-specific considerations including Brussels IV (EU Regulation 650/2012), which allows EU citizens to elect the law of their nationality to govern their estate.

For EU users, the generator includes prompts about forced heirship โ€” the statutory reserved shares that many civil law jurisdictions (France, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and others) require for children and, in some countries, spouses. Understanding these rules before you draft your will is essential; a will that conflicts with forced heirship provisions may be partially or fully set aside by a court.

EU user data is stored exclusively on EU-based infrastructure, fully separate from US data, in compliance with GDPR data residency requirements. Your files never cross regions.

Pricing That Makes Sense

Legati is available on three core plans. Monthly and yearly subscriptions include a 7-day free trial so you can try the platform before committing; the lifetime plan is a one-time purchase with no trial.

  • Monthly โ€” 1 GB of encrypted storage. Ideal if you want to start with a low commitment.
  • Yearly โ€” 5 GB of encrypted storage. The best value for most users versus monthly billing.
  • Lifetime โ€” 100 GB of encrypted storage with a one-time purchase.

For US users who want an additional layer of physical security, the USB Backup Drive add-on ships an encrypted USB drive containing your documents to a physical address โ€” useful for families who want an offline backup they can hand to an executor or store in a separate location. EU availability is shown on the pricing page when offered.

Current pricing and any active early-adopter discounts are shown on the pricing page and at checkout.

Your Legacy, Secured

Estate planning is one of those tasks that always feels like it can wait โ€” until it can't. The documents you create today protect the people you care about most. They prevent legal disputes, reduce the administrative burden on grieving family members, and ensure your wishes are honoured rather than guessed at.

Legati brings together encrypted secure storage, a structured will generator, and a delegate access system in one platform, designed specifically for this purpose. It takes minutes to get started, and it is the kind of thing you will be glad you did.

Create your free account today and spend 7 days exploring Legati. No credit card required to start your trial.