It was recently reported that 72% of adults in their early 30s would trust AI to update their Will.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming a part of our everyday lives, and has transformed a number of industries, and the legal services industry is no exception. Using AI can be a cost effective and accessible way to try to find out information and in some cases, draft legal documents. However, as with all things, the convenience of AI has its advantages and disadvantages, and this blog will consider the pros and cons of using AI to draft your Will.
What are the advantages of using AI to draft your Will?
- Cost effective – using a solicitor can be expensive, with the fees for solicitors to draft Wills varying between law firms. AI provides a cheaper alternative to using a solicitor for those people who might have tried to write their own Will, or those who haven’t bothered to make a Will due to financial constraints.
- Convenience – using AI allows users to research and prepare a Will without the inconvenience of travelling to a law firm. This could be beneficial for individuals with busy schedules, young children or mobility difficulties.
- Faster Process – drafting a Will can be completed immediately using AI, whereas the traditional route using legal services will take a bit longer.
What are the disadvantages of using AI to draft your Will?
- Lack of personalised service – one of the downsides to using AI for legal services, is the absence of personalised legal advice. AI will not be able to provide tailored advice based on unusual or complicated family dynamics, inheritance tax implications or unique and unusual situations which may require specialised or nuanced interpretation.
- Risk of invalidity – AI may not always be able to generate a Will that complies with the specific succession laws of the country you are in. If the Will that you have had prepared is not legally valid due to jurisdictional requirements, it could be deemed unenforceable and invalid and could even be contested. Advice from a legal professional who is an expert in the succession laws to which the country you hold assets, will be able to ensure that your Will complies with local laws to where you live. AI is also not able to ensure that a Will is signed and executed properly and accordance with the Wills Act. Failure to execute a Will correctly can result in it being invalid.
- Limited adaptability for complex estates – for those individuals who have complicated family structures, significant assets such as assets in a number of jurisdictions, business ownerships, interest in trusts or charities and multiple beneficiaries, AI generated Wills would not be able to adequately address all legal considerations. People with such needs should seek bespoke specialist legal advice that AI tools cannot provide.
- Security Concerns – when using AI to prepare a Will, the AI platform will require users to input sensitive personal and financial information. In most cases it is not advised to input personal data into AI platforms and even specialist legal AI platforms may lack robust security measures, and your data could be vulnerable to breaches which would pose privacy risks.
- Errors due to misinterpretation – as AI relies solely on the user inputting information correctly, should the user input incorrect information, or misunderstand some of the questions, this could lead to errors in the final Will. In addition, AI can only prepare a Will based on the information the user provides and will not seek out additional information that a solicitor may ask for during a face-to-face meeting. Without such professional oversight, the user may not realise their Will is incomplete or incorrect, and this could end up with the Will being invalid or contested.
AI is proving a useful tool in many areas and is advancing rapidly; however, it may be that it is too early to use AI to prepare what is one of the most important documents that you will prepare in your lifetime. Seeking professional advice from a specialist solicitor will help to avoid errors and although AI has made a big impact in the legal sector, it is not currently a full replacement for human expertise.
If you would like to discuss estate planning, please call us on 01279 295047, or complete our enquiry form and we will be in touch.