innovation in legacy planning
A first of a kind digital will making platform with a mobile first design approach
00
problem
People want to protect their legacy and secure their families, but wills are perceived as inaccessible — leading to unclaimed assets, family disputes, legal delays, and emotional stress for survivors.
solution
Yellow is a digital service that lets anyone create, update, and manage legally valid wills easily, with guidance, support, and transparency. It is one of India’s first digital will-making solution designed to make will creation simple, secure, affordable, and legally valid.
What is Yellow trying to solve?
The goal was to address the problems that arise when people pass away without a will. In most cases, this led to important family members being left out and the process of accessing assets took up to three years and cost a lot of money. Assets worth 1.5 Lakh Crore are estimated to be unclaimed in Indian accounts, which could be resolved by creating a will. We recognized that there were several misconceptions regarding the necessity of creating a will, which we aimed to address and dispel.
My role
As the lead UX designer, I spearheaded the design process from conception to launch. This included:
Understanding project scope and user needs: I collaborated with founders and subject matter experts to define the project vision and conducted user research to ensure the product addressed their needs.
Crafting a user-centered experience: I defined user journeys, designed the information architecture, and worked closely with the visual designer and front-end engineers to create a cohesive, visually appealing, and technically feasible product.
Delivering a successful product: I leveraged my deep understanding of the domain to design and deliver the final product, ensuring it met all user and technical requirements.
As my work is covered under NDA, I can showcase only highlights
A few features that I worked on
Documenting Assets
One of the core functionalities of the app is a space for users to upload a comprehensive list of all their assets. Once a user subscribes for a will, this space becomes an ever evolving section of the app which allows a user to come in at anytime and update the details. To allow for this flexibility, I needed to design an easy, flexible process for a user to come each time they want to upload details of an asset.
The flow allows users to start from anywhere they want. Each section is divided into smaller parts, making it simple and clear to update various details. We only ask for the required legal information. Users can also add assets not covered in the categories, and we ensure it's legally valid.
Flow of selecting an asset category and updating individual asset detail:
User Education
During the MVP stage, we placed a strong emphasis on the education section. As this concept of a product was relatively new in the industry, we wanted to make sure that users wouldn't get stuck, confused, or drop out. To achieve this, we made sure that accessing help was easy and provided various support options such as blogs, chats, and speaking to a lawyer. We ensured that help was readily available on every user interaction point, without disrupting their workflow. Additionally, we aimed to present information that was not only accurate but also user-friendly, avoiding overwhelming technical details.
Ensuring users have help available at every touchpoint to make an informed decision before proceeding:
Post will-creation support
Regarding the product experience, creating a will was just one part of securing a person's estate. The product offered unique post-creation support, including:
Sending an original copy of the will to any desired address.
Providing a digitally signed version of the will, equivalent to a soft copy, which involves recording one self signing the will, which served as a unique security measure to secure a will.
Allowing users to update the will's storage location.
Sending digital notifications to everyone named in the will, including beneficiaries, executors, and guardians.
Maintaining a detailed version history for every modification made since the initial will creation.
Enabling users to specify their funeral arrangements down to the last detail.
List of actions a user can take after updating their will:
What some of our users had to say -
"The next generation will making!" - Mamta_1
The flawless step by step flow for discovering assets and then distributing accordingly makes it so simple that anybody can now make their wills in no time.
Not only making a will but one can easily maintain a track of their assets as and when they require.
"Excellent application" - Atrayei
The app is so intuitive that I did not even have to bang my head against the wall trying to figure out how to make a perfect will. It covered all important aspects that I didn't even know about such as the importance of adding backup beneficiaries and executors. With this app one cannot go wrong with their will making process!
"Just what I've been looking for" - Anjali
This app is just amazing. Ever since I became a mother, I have been wanting to put my will in place to make sure my children are properly provided for, but had been putting it off because I didn't know where to start. This app was so easy to use and even more than that I learned quite a few things about Will making in India.
"Very useful and informative" - Arun Ramachandran
Yellow is an eye opener especially in an area that's not spoken much about. I like the resources section which is quite informative and provides an easy understanding of need for a will and how to go about it.
"Exceptional!" - ishagajera
This app has made my parents works so easy! My father was worried about spending a lot on lawyers and other paperwork, but this app helps a lot… helped him step by step to upload everything. Recommended!
see also
