Estate planning is the process of making decisions today that will determine what happens to assets and loved ones in the future. It typically involves preparing documents – like wills, trusts, and powers of attorney.
Because estate planning involves documents, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are now commonly used to create documents, it’s natural to wonder: can AI draft an estate plan?
AI tools have become a regular part of everyday life. They’re used to write emails, summarize documents, and even create images and videos. These tools can save time, reduce costs, and increase productivity. But not every task is appropriate for AI.
Understanding the Most Common Types of AI Tools
Before exploring whether AI can (or should) be used for estate planning, it helps to understand what these tools are and how they work. AI is a broad term, but here are the basic categories most people interact with today:
Large Language Models (LLMs)
These are the most commonly used tools for writing tasks. LLMs are trained on massive collections of books, articles, and websites, and use algorithms to predict what words should come next in a sentence. They can generate impressive, human-like responses, but they don’t truly “understand” what they’re writing – they just follow patterns from their training data.
Image Recognition and Generation Tools
These tools can either describe what’s in a picture or create brand-new images from text prompts. They’re trained by analyzing millions of pictures, learning to detect patterns in shape, color, and style.
Predictive and Decision-Making Tools
These AI systems sort through enormous amounts of data to identify trends and predict future outcomes. They’re frequently used in finance, marketing, and healthcare to aid human decision-making.
Of these categories, Large Language Models are the most likely to be used for drafting estate planning documents. With a simple prompt, such as, “Write a will that gives everything to my wife,” these tools can produce a document in seconds that appears like a valid legal document.
What Are the Risks of Using AI to Draft a Will?
It may seem impressive when an AI tool can produce a will that looks valid on demand, but there are serious risks that come with relying on AI to handle something as important as an estate plan. The biggest risks stem from what AI tools don’t do:
1. AI Can’t Ask the Right Questions
A well-drafted estate plan doesn’t begin with a blank form. It starts with thoughtful questions. What happens if a beneficiary dies before the person who created the will? Should certain assets pass outside of probate using beneficiary designations? Are there tax or family concerns to plan around? AI tools only answer what they’re asked. They don’t ask anything in return. If something important is left out of the prompt, it won’t make it into the document.
2. AI Can’t Give Legal Advice
Even the most advanced AI doesn’t provide legal recommendations. It doesn’t analyze whether a trust might be better than a will. It doesn’t assess whether a document meets state-specific legal requirements. It can’t warn if a person is unintentionally disinheriting a family member or creating an estate plan that won’t work as intended.
3. AI Doesn’t Account for Jurisdictional Rules
Estate planning laws vary from state to state. Requirements for signing a will, creating powers of attorney, or naming a personal representative can differ from state to state. AI tools may default to the laws of a particular state, or worse, blend rules from several sources, creating confusion or leading to a document that’s not valid at all.
4. AI Lacks Contextual Understanding
Even if an estate plan created by an AI tool looks like a valid legal document, there may be unintended consequences when the plan is implemented. If the AI tool is not prompted to consider important estate planning issues, such as blended families, beneficiaries with special needs, or out of state property, then the estate plan will be silent on these issues. Failing to consider these issues could create unfortunate results for the family.
AI Is Not a Substitute for Legal Judgment
Estate planning is not just paperwork, it’s a strategy. The documents should reflect thoughtful legal analysis, customized to a person’s goals, family, and assets. While AI can certainly help speed up some basic writing tasks, it isn’t equipped to handle the nuance, complexity, and human judgment required to build a comprehensive estate plan.
In many areas of life, it’s perfectly fine to use technology to save time. But when it comes to protecting a legacy, providing for loved ones, and avoiding legal pitfalls, shortcuts can be risky. An estate plan created without professional guidance may not fail right away, but the consequences often surface when it’s too late to fix them.
