A trio of Calgary entrepreneurs are looking to simplify the task of writing your own will, or completing a variety of other common legal tasks, through an innovative Web site.
Mike Lee, a Calgary businessman who has been involved with a number of local computer firms, has teamed with lawyer Rolland Lequier and eCommerce MBA graduate Jay Donlevy to launch eHomelaw.com.
The site went live a month ago and currently offers will and estate planning kits for sale. In the months ahead it will expand to include various business kits, such as shareholder and employment agreements as well as real estate documents, such as lease or mortgage agreements.
The idea for the site came to Lee the way many great ideas come to people — while sitting in traffic.
“I was sitting in the car and listening to an ad for a home will kit, that you had to call a 1-800 number to order,” says Lee. “I wondered why you had to place a phone call when it would be so much simpler to download it from the Internet.”
Lee did some investigating and determined there was an opportunity to do just that. The other advantage in making the kits available on the Internet is that eHomelaw is able to show buyers samples of the documents before they buy. With most home will kits sold in stores, the documents are wrapped in cellophane or boxed.
Using their own financing, the trio worked with local Internet development firm Lexicom to build the site. The focus was on making the process as simple for users as possible.
“Our goal is to make this kind of information a lot more accessible to people,” Lee adds. “A lot of people don’t know where to turn for things like will or legal tools because they don’t have a lawyer or they don’t know a lawyer.”
The products sell for $39.95 for a general will kit without affidavit forms, up to $99.95 for a kit with affidavits and enduring power of attorney forms.
Web watch:
eHomelaw.com.
