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Aipedia: Will writers and estate planners
AI notetakers can record and transcribe will instruction meetings, but the firm must handle consent, special-category data and the accuracy of the record. That record may be the main evidence if the will is challenged years later.
Part of: AI in Will writers and estate planners
In short
Some will writers may record home visits and video meetings and use AI to produce transcripts and summaries. The benefits are a fuller record and less typing. The risks are recording without clear consent, sending health and family details to an external service, summaries that omit or distort what the client said, and records that are deleted too early. IPW clause 7.3.10 expects files to be kept for six years after death. Errors in the record usually matter most when a will is challenged, and the resulting claim is usually handled under PI.
Instruction meetings for wills are long, personal and detailed: family relationships, previous marriages, health, assets, wishes for funerals and guardians. Notetaking tools record the meeting, transcribe it and produce a summary or a populated instruction form. Some are built into video platforms; others run on a phone during a home visit.
Used well, a transcript is a strong record of what the client wanted and how they expressed it. Used badly, it replaces the adviser's own attendance note with a summary nobody has checked.
IPW Code clauses 5.1 and 5.2 require confidentiality and GDPR compliance, and SWW Code clause 2.8 covers confidentiality and data protection, with clause 4.4(g) referring to GDPR. Health information relevant to capacity is special-category data, so recording and processing it needs a lawful basis and a condition for special-category data, and clients should be told in the privacy notice. Third parties mentioned in the meeting, such as children or a former spouse, are also data subjects.
IPW clause 7.3.10 requires the letter of engagement to cover file retention for six years after death. A notetaker that deletes recordings or transcripts automatically after 30 or 90 days may conflict with that unless the firm keeps its own copy.
Ask before recording, explain why, and say where the recording goes. Some clients, especially older clients, may agree without understanding that an external service will process the audio. If a family member is present, they are being recorded too. Recording without clear agreement can damage trust and lead to complaints under IPW clause 15 or SWW clauses 8.1 to 8.8. See telling will clients you use AI.
Illustrative scenario: a client says during a home visit that she wants her late son's children to take his share. The AI summary records "residue to surviving children equally". The adviser drafts from the summary, not the transcript. After her death, the grandchildren discover they have been left out. The firm deleted the recording under the tool's default retention setting, so it cannot show what was said, and the grandchildren bring a claim.
Other risks are transcription errors in names and amounts, a summary that drops a conditional wish or a gift to charity, speaker labels that attribute a relative's words to the client, and a recording stored on a personal phone that is later lost.
A drafting error caused by a faulty summary is usually treated as negligence in the will writer's services, subject to the policy terms. A loss of recordings or a breach involving client data may fall partly under cyber cover rather than PI; see GDPR and data breach cover within PI. Where the record is the main evidence of capacity, its quality affects how defensible a claim is; see AI, capacity and undue influence.
Solicitors face similar issues; see AI transcription and attendance notes. Storage risks are covered in will storage and digital vaults.
Apex arranges PI for will firms, and a broker can check how your policies split responsibility for record errors and data losses. See AI in will writing.
You need a lawful basis to process the data, and for health details a special-category condition. In practice, asking and recording clear agreement at the start of each meeting is the safest approach and helps with trust and complaints.
IPW clause 7.3.10 refers to keeping files for six years after death. If the recording or transcript forms part of your instruction record, keep it with the file for that period rather than relying on the tool’s default deletion.
It is risky. Summaries can drop conditions and misname people. Use it as a starting point, check it against the transcript, and write your own note on capacity and free will.
Losing data may be a cyber or data protection issue rather than a PI claim. If a lost recording leaves you unable to defend a negligence claim, the negligence claim is usually handled under PI, subject to the terms.
Tell us about your firm and the work you do. A broker will review how your current PI treats AI-assisted work, or arrange new cover. No fee for a quote. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Start a PI quote Request a callbackApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information about how AI is used in the profession and how insurance may respond. It is not legal, regulatory or insurance advice on your circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
