Help and Feature Guide
Everything you need to know about creating your will, securing your vault, and protecting the people you love.
Visit firmdeed.com/signup and register with your email and password. A unique Vault ID is automatically assigned to you at signup. This ID is yours permanently and can never be changed.
After registering you are taken to your personal dashboard. From here you can create your will, view your documents, manage your beneficiaries, and access your account settings.
Click New Will from your dashboard. You will be guided through a 7-step wizard covering your personal details, beneficiaries, executors, assets, liabilities, personal messages, and final wishes. Progress is saved automatically.
Your FirmDeed vault is your permanent encrypted evidence container. One vault per legal identity.
Vault ID — assigned at signup in the format FD-XXXXXXXX-XXX. Shown in your sidebar and on all FirmDeed documents.
Identity lock — your full legal name, date of birth, and National ID last 6 characters are permanently locked after your first confirmed save.
75-year retention — FirmDeed retains your vault for a minimum of 75 years. Your vault cannot be deleted.
One vault per person — one vault equals one legal identity. You cannot create a second account for the same person.
The wizard walks you through 7 steps. Progress is saved automatically. You can pause and return at any time.
Step 1
Personal Information
Your full legal name, date of birth, address, phone, and National ID. Locked permanently after first save.
Step 2
Beneficiaries
People or organisations who receive your estate. Assign percentage shares and write personal messages for each.
Step 3
Executors
The person responsible for carrying out your will. Up to 4 executors in a serialisation chain.
Step 4
Assets
Real estate, bank accounts, vehicles, investments, and other assets.
Step 5
Liabilities
Debts and obligations your estate will need to settle.
Step 6
Personal Messages
Private messages to your loved ones. Delivered after death event confirmation.
Step 7
Review and Confirm
Review everything before confirming. The active will is always the last confirmed version.
Beneficiaries are the people or organisations named in your will to receive your estate.
Share percentages — assign a percentage of your estate to each beneficiary. Total must equal 100 percent.
Personal messages — write a private message for each beneficiary. Delivered after your death event is verified.
Removing a beneficiary — beneficiaries are never deleted. Removing one mutes them from your active will. The record is preserved permanently.
Vault ID linking — if your beneficiary also has a FirmDeed vault you can link their Vault ID to auto-fill their details.
Your executor is the person legally responsible for carrying out your will. FirmDeed supports up to 4 executors in a serialisation chain.
Serialisation chain — Primary 1 to Primary 2 to Backup 1 to Backup 2. If the first executor cannot act responsibility passes to the next.
Executor acceptance — after you confirm your will each named executor receives an email asking them to formally accept or decline the role.
Death event submission — your executor is the only person authorised to submit the death certificate to FirmDeed.
Your Documents page shows all confirmed wills and draft documents stored in your vault.
Will document — your confirmed will is a formatted PDF document. View it from your dashboard at any time. Print it for wet-signature execution with witnesses.
Version history — every time you edit and confirm your will a new version is created. Previous versions are never deleted.
Vault file storage — the Storage Package gives you 2GB of encrypted vault storage for supporting documents. Coming soon.
$0
$49 one-time
$99 one-time
All prices in CAD. One-time payments. No annual fees.
Encryption — your National ID and sensitive fields are encrypted at rest.
Zero unilateral access — FirmDeed staff cannot access the contents of your vault. Our staff move the boxes. They do not have the keys.
Court order policy — the only way anyone can access your vault contents is with a court order from a court of competent jurisdiction. No exceptions.
Audit trail — every action on your vault is recorded in a tamper-evident WORM audit log. Nothing is ever deleted.
Canadian-operated — FirmDeed is a Canadian company. Your data stays in Canada.
When the testator passes away the named executor initiates the death event protocol.
Executor submits the death certificate through their executor portal.
FirmDeed staff verify the certificate manually. The 72-hour clock does not start until verification is complete.
After verification the mandatory 72-hour waiting period begins.
After 72 hours executor access is granted. Beneficiaries are notified. Personal messages are delivered.
FirmDeed guarantees the evidence. Courts decide what it means.
Is my FirmDeed will legally valid?
FirmDeed generates a formatted will document. For it to be legally valid it must be signed in the presence of two witnesses who also sign. FirmDeed is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
Can I change my will after confirming it?
Yes. You can edit your will at any time from your dashboard. Every edit creates a new version. Your active will is always the last confirmed version. Previous versions are never deleted.
Can someone access my vault without my permission?
No. FirmDeed staff cannot access vault contents. The only path to vault access is a court order from a court of competent jurisdiction.
What is the Vault ID used for?
Your Vault ID is your permanent unique identifier within FirmDeed. It appears on your will document and in your sidebar. Use it on the public Vault Verification page to confirm your vault exists without exposing any content.
Is FirmDeed only for Canadians?
FirmDeed is Canadian-operated and optimised for Canadian estates. The platform supports international users. Your country of residence is captured and used where relevant in your will.
What happens after 75 years?
FirmDeed ring-fences a perpetuity reserve per paid account to guarantee vault maintenance for a minimum of 75 years.
Create your vault and start your will today.
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