Ontario Estate-law Software lands $1-million in Seed Funding

Toronto-based legal tech firm, eState Planner, recently announced a $1-million seed round led by Hubdoc co-founders Jamie McDonald and Jamie Shulman. eState Planner intends to use the funds to develop its software for use in other provinces. 

eState Planner uses algorithms to generate wills, powers of attorney, and reporting letters based on data entered into the software. The digital estate law tool also serves as a second set of eyes, showing clients and lawyers the impacts of certain decisions, and flagging planning opportunities and tax ramifications. 

Co-creators Jordan Atin and Ian Hull launched eState Planner in 2019 after noting a lack of innovation in their practice area. The software is now used by approximately 400 law firms across Canada. “It’s an endorsement” says Atin, “of the need for technology in the estate planning space. eState was developed by lawyers… and it’s for lawyers. We’re not just a software company.” 

Over the past few years, there has been a marked uptick in the number of digital tools purporting to simplify and expedite the estate planning and administration process. ClearEstate, for instance, is another example of a tech-enabled estate planning platform that aims to help executors navigate and speed up the estate settlement process. The extent to which technology can suitably replace person-to-person legal service remains to be seen.