Technological innovation continues to advance at remarkable speed, and AI is increasingly being used to generate wills quickly and at little or no apparent cost. While this may seem appealing, any savings achieved at the outset can be illusory. In practice, AI-generated wills can expose individuals and their families to significant risks, including disputes, costly rectification, and litigation after death.
While AI tools can produce documents that resemble standard will templates, they cannot engage in meaningful estate planning or provide tailored advice on tax exposure. Effective will drafting begins long before the document itself is prepared. The real value of a skilled advisor lies in understanding a client’s circumstances and asking the right questions at the right time.
What do we mean by estate planning?
Estate planning is a holistic process. Professional legal advisers will:
- Gather detailed information about a client’s personal and financial circumstances, including trusts, business interests, and lifetime gifting.
- Advise on the most appropriate legal and tax efficient structure to meet the client’s objectives.
- Prepare bespoke documentation that reflects those objectives clearly and robustly.
This depth of analysis cannot be replicated by automated systems.
Where AI falls short
A personal approach
Estate planning is inherently personal. Legal advisers often work with families across generations and understand wider family estates and long‑term objectives. AI cannot properly assess lifetime gifting arrangements, existing trusts, or the broader family picture in the way an experienced practitioner can.
Tax planning and legislative change
AI platforms typically provide general educational information, not advice tailored to an individual’s circumstances. Tax law changes frequently and recent developments, particularly in relation to agricultural and business property reliefs, have had a significant impact on estate planning strategies. A professional adviser can assess the law as it stands, anticipate known changes, and consider practical issues such as liquidity to meet any inheritance tax liability.
For high‑value estates, missed planning opportunities can result in substantial and unnecessary tax charges. In certain cases, such as farming families, poor planning can jeopardise business continuity and succession.
Family dynamics and vulnerability
AI cannot assess issues such as mental capacity, vulnerability, or the complex dynamics that often exist within families. The needs of dependants, the potential for conflict, and the risk of future challenges all require careful and sensitive consideration. Failure to address these matters can result in a poorly structured will that’s open to dispute, causing distress and significant cost for those left behind.
Validity and execution
Perhaps most concerning is the risk that errors in AI‑generated wills go unnoticed. Wills are subject to strict formalities, including precise execution and witnessing requirements. A seemingly minor mistake can render a will invalid, leaving the estate to pass under the intestacy rules and only coming to light after death, when it’s too late to remedy.
A tool, not a replacement
AI may be capable of generating basic will structures and referencing certain legal requirements, such as the need for two independent witnesses. However, it’s a generative tool and only as reliable as the information supplied to it. Without specialist legal knowledge, it’s unlikely that a non‑professional will identify the key issues that should inform the drafting process, potentially resulting in documents that are inappropriate or ineffective.
If clients do use AI, it should be as an educational starting point only, for example to help frame initial thinking ahead of a meeting with professional advisers.
Final thoughts
Bespoke advice from experienced professionals remains essential when preparing a will or undertaking wider estate planning. This isn’t to suggest that AI has no role to play; rather, it should be viewed as one of many tools. Just as the invention of the laptop didn’t render the pen obsolete, the development of AI doesn’t diminish the value of professional expertise.
If you’re reviewing your will or considering wider estate planning, particularly in light of recent inheritance tax changes, our private client team would be pleased to assist.
This article was written for Mills & Reeve's Private Affairs - Summer 2026.
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