Artificial intelligence is transforming numerous aspects of daily life, from online searches to travel planning and even communications. When it comes to estate planning—a process that defines a client’s legacy and protects their family—AI remains an inadequate substitute for professional human guidance.
The complexities and nuances of an effective estate plan still require expertise that only a trained estate planning attorney can deliver.
Here are five key reasons why wealth advisors should caution clients against using AI to create their estate plans.
1. AI Cannot Identify Critical Follow-Up Issues
Estate planning is far more intricate than many realize, and the complications are often unrelated to wealth alone. According to Laura Cowan, estate planning attorney and founder of 2-Hour Lifestyle Lawyer, “AI tools only address the information that is inputted. They cannot identify the critical issues that clients fail to disclose.”
A qualified estate planning attorney is trained to "issue spot"—to recognize red flags and ask probing questions a client may not realize are essential. Cowan illustrates this with a common oversight: a father creating a will with AI, failing to disclose that his daughter has special needs.
Without professional intervention, a critical special needs trust would be omitted, jeopardizing the daughter's eligibility for vital government benefits upon her father’s passing. Human expertise ensures that unseen complexities are surfaced and properly addressed.
2. Errors Are Often Hidden Until It's Too Late
AI-generated legal documents may appear polished, but the visual quality of a document is no measure of its legal sufficiency. "The true risk lies in the legal language," Cowan explained. "A minor drafting error, such as selecting the wrong type of trust or misusing a legal term, can have devastating consequences for heirs."
Unlike AI, estate attorneys spend years mastering the drafting of documents designed to withstand legal scrutiny. Mistakes from AI tools often remain undetected until the documents are needed—at which point it may be too late to correct them. The financial and emotional toll on a client’s family can be significant.
3. AI Lacks a Personal Relationship and Ongoing Oversight
Effective estate planning is not a one-time event but an ongoing process that evolves with life changes, asset growth, and regulatory updates. AI tools provide no continuing relationship, no periodic review, and no proactive prompts when major life events occur.
"Your life, assets, and the laws that govern them will change," Cowan said. "AI will not remind you to revise your plan after a marriage, the birth of a child, or a major acquisition." She cited an example where a client created an online will after her first child’s birth.
Over five years, she remarried, had another child, and purchased a second home—but never updated her documents. When she died unexpectedly, her outdated plan named her ex-husband as executor and guardian, excluding her current family entirely. A trusted attorney-client relationship would have prevented this oversight.
4. AI May Overlook Execution Requirements
Each jurisdiction has specific legal formalities regarding the execution of wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. Failure to comply renders these documents invalid—something AI platforms frequently miss.
“Many DIY estate documents are invalidated because they fail to meet the execution standards required by state law,” Cowan said. "For instance, printing and signing a will at home without two witnesses and a notary—where required—will likely result in the will being thrown out by the court."
These procedural errors are fatal to an estate plan, leaving clients’ wishes unfulfilled and heirs exposed to expensive legal battles. A qualified attorney ensures proper execution to avoid these outcomes.
5. AI Cannot Properly Coordinate Asset Titling and Beneficiary Designations
AI tools are ill-equipped to ensure that an estate plan aligns with the titling of assets and beneficiary designations. Failure to synchronize these elements can completely derail a client’s intended distribution of wealth.
“AI won’t catch that beneficiary designations on life insurance, IRAs, and retirement plans supersede the instructions in a will,” Cowan warned. For example, a client might name his brother Tom as heir in his will but leave his life insurance policy beneficiary designation to his sister Mary. Regardless of the will’s language, the insurance proceeds will go to Mary, not Tom.
An experienced estate planning attorney methodically reviews beneficiary designations, account titling, and other critical components to ensure consistency and prevent such discrepancies.
The Bottom Line for Wealth Advisors
While AI offers promising efficiencies in many areas, estate planning is not a task to entrust to algorithms. As a wealth advisor, you play a pivotal role in steering clients toward human professionals who will protect their assets, honor their legacies, and preserve family harmony. Estate plans crafted with expertise—not automation—will stand the test of time, courts, and life’s inevitable changes.
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