Why use lawyers to draft your Will?
Research undertaken on behalf of the Association of Lifetime Lawyers (ALL) has found that only 52% of Wills have been drafted by a solicitor, suggesting that the remainder have been created by the individuals themselves, using the back of an envelope, an off-the-shelf template, or very possibly with the help of AI. The ALL sees this rapid rise of AI as a particular danger, warning that using AI to draft a Will is likely to result in poorly drafted documents that risk excluding some people, including others erroneously, failing to meet legal requirements, and ultimately leading to more Will disputes.
Why is professional oversight important?
A Will is an important legal document that allows you to decide how your estate (everything you own) will be distributed to your chosen beneficiaries and who will deal with that distribution. Within your Will, you can also appoint guardians for any children under 18 and set up Trusts to protect your family financially, particularly those family members who are vulnerable. You can also use your Will to outline what you want to happen to your digital assets as well as detailing any funeral wishes.
There are strict legal rules around the drafting and witnessing of Wills. If your Will has been incorrectly worded and / or witnessed it may be invalid/or bequests in your Will could fail. This could result in your estate being distributed in accordance with the intestacy rules. The (non-negotiable) intestacy rules, which govern who benefits from the estate of someone who dies without a Will, are prescriptive. Spouses, civil partners and children are all first in line to inherit followed by other close relatives in descending order of blood relationship. In a further complication, a poorly drafted Will, even if legally valid, may well be contested by disappointed relatives after your death (and the dramatic increase in the number of inheritance disputes in the High Court over recent years bears witness to this).
Relying on a AI generated Will or an off-the-shelf template also exposes you to duress from other family members who wish to direct how your assets should be distributed. A lawyer must establish that you have the mental capacity to make a Will and that you are doing so of your own free will. They will also ensure that it is correctly witnessed by two independent adults who are not beneficiaries to your Will.
Surely AI is sophisticated enough to deal with a simple Will?
The ALL tested various AI platforms, including ChatGPT, DeepSeek and Microsoft Copilot, to create a Will. While each were able to produce documents that looked like a Will and met the most basic requirements, they were confusingly constructed and demonstrated a poor grasp of legal requirements, a lack of understanding of the knock-on effect of key decisions, an absence of personalisation, and were inaccurately worded.
This should worry, in particular, those people with more complicated family structures arising from second, or even third marriages, with both biological children and stepchildren to bring into the mix. Equally important is the accurate drafting of a Will for those parents who have never married – there is no such thing as a common law marriage and a badly drafted Will could leave a partner with nothing. You can read more detail about this in our article on navigating inheritance in ‘blended’ families on our website.
What recourse do you have for a poorly drafted Will?
Using a solicitor not only minimises the risk of error and ensures that your wishes will be carried out correctly after your death but will also give you peace of mind as we are a regulated profession. This means that you are protected by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Ombudsman in the unlikely event that the Will contains errors. There is no legal protection for you if you rely on AI to draft your Will or if you complete an off-the-shelf template incorrectly. The same also applies to an unregulated will writer, of which there are many.
The law governing Wills, inheritance, tax and Trusts can be complicated, and a solicitor can help you make informed decisions relevant to your individual circumstances. Even if you assume that your affairs are straightforward, there may be many factors you’ve not considered, and they almost certainly will not be correctly dealt with by either AI or a template Will.
Examples include:
- Inheritance Tax planning – minimising the 40% Inheritance Tax bill
- Protecting minor children and vulnerable family members
- Using Trusts to protect assets. For example, a Trust can provide for your partner after your death while protecting assets for your children if your partner remarries
- Dealing with your assets if you live abroad or own a holiday property or other assets in another jurisdiction
- Transfer of any business assets
You may be tempted to take the easy, cheap way to leave instructions on how you want your assets to be distributed after your death. That might suffice if you only have a few possessions and a bit of cash in the bank. But, for most people, taking this route is risky and the law of unintended consequences is more likely than not to prevail. Please do not hesitate to contact a member of our Private Client team and they will be delighted to explain the options to you.
The information provided in this article is provided for general information purposes only, and does not provide definitive advice. It does not amount to legal or other professional advice and so you should not rely on any information contained here as if it were such advice.
Wright Hassall does not accept any responsibility for any loss which may arise from reliance on any information published here. Definitive advice can only be given with full knowledge of all relevant facts. If you need such advice please contact a member of our professional staff.
The information published across our Knowledge Base is correct at the time of going to press.
