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Aipedia: Will writers and estate planners
AI can help a will firm spot clients whose wills may be out of date, but promising a review service creates expectations a firm must then meet. Missed updates can leave a family with a will that no longer reflects the client’s wishes.
Part of: AI in Will writers and estate planners
In short
Will firms are starting to use AI to scan client records for life events, ageing wills and law changes that might affect them, and to send review reminders. Whether a firm owes a continuing duty to review usually depends on what it has agreed or advertised. A review service that misses a marriage, divorce or death, or fails to warn about a law change, can lead to complaints and negligence claims. The Law Commission has proposed ending revocation of wills by marriage, which would change the review picture. Claims are usually handled under PI, subject to the policy terms.
Many will firms hold thousands of client records. AI tools can search them for wills older than a set age, clients who mentioned a pending divorce or new partner, beneficiaries recorded as elderly or unwell, and clients affected by a change in law or tax rules. They can then draft review reminder letters or emails in bulk. Some firms combine this with storage services, using contact with stored-will clients as a review opportunity.
This is useful, and it can be good for clients. But it also changes the firm's relationship with them, from a one-off service to something that looks like ongoing responsibility.
The codes we checked do not set a general duty to review existing wills. Whether a will writer must contact past clients usually depends on the retainer: what the letter of engagement says (IPW clause 7.3), what the written summary records (SWW clauses 4.1 to 4.3), and what the firm advertises. A firm that sells a review plan, or tells clients it will contact them when the law changes, may be judged against that promise.
Law changes matter here. Under current law, marriage or civil partnership generally revokes an existing will. The Law Commission's Modernising Wills Law report recommends abolishing that rule, and also lowering the minimum age to 16. The government is still reviewing the draft Bill. If enacted, clients who marry would no longer have their wills revoked automatically, so an old will might survive a marriage it was never written for. Review communications would need to reflect that.
Illustrative scenario: a firm offers a paid annual review plan and uses an AI tool to decide which clients to contact. The tool keys on will age and misses a client who told the firm at storage renewal that he had married. His will was revoked by the marriage and he never made a new one. After his death, his children from an earlier relationship receive less than he intended under the intestacy rules, and they claim the firm should have advised him under the review plan.
Other risks are bulk reminder letters with wrong legal statements, letters sent to the wrong person, and a tool that gives false reassurance by marking a will as "reviewed" when nobody looked at it.
Negligent-review claims are usually assessed by asking what the firm agreed to do and whether it did it with reasonable care. If the firm promised reviews, a missed review may fall within its professional services, subject to the policy terms and the £2 million minimum IPW clause 1.7 and SWW clause 2.12 require. If the firm discovers a systematic error, such as many clients being missed, it may need to tell its insurer about the circumstances promptly; see circumstance notification.
Drafting errors in updated wills are covered in AI will drafting software, and stored-will contacts in will storage and digital vaults.
Apex arranges PI for will firms that offer review and storage plans, and can check your policy reflects those services. See AI in will writing, telling clients you use AI and will writer insurance.
There is no general code duty we could verify. It usually depends on what the firm agreed or advertised. If you sell a review service or promise to contact clients after law changes, you may be judged against that promise.
Yes, under current law marriage or civil partnership generally revokes an existing will. The Law Commission recommended abolishing this in May 2025, but the government is still reviewing the draft Bill.
It can be. The files contain personal and often health data, and IPW clauses 5.1 and 5.2 and SWW clause 2.8 require confidentiality and data protection compliance. Use an approved tool, check your privacy notice covers the purpose, and limit the data processed.
It can help shortlist them, but a person should check each flagged file and the ones it did not flag where the firm has promised reviews. Relying on the tool alone risks missing the clients who most need advice.
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.
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