Why Not Use AI to Make My Will?

AI can generate a document that looks like a will in seconds. The harder question is whether that document actually accomplishes what you intend, coordinates with the rest of your assets, and is executed in a way Missouri law will recognize.

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For some people, AI can be useful for learning terminology or organizing questions before meeting with an attorney. But generating legal language is not the same thing as completing an estate plan.

The First Problem Is Practical:
Will the Will Be Executed Correctly?

A will does not become effective simply because the language looks legally sophisticated. Missouri law imposes specific execution requirements, including requirements concerning the testator’s signature and witnesses. Missouri also now recognizes electronic wills, but those wills have their own statutory requirements concerning electronic signatures, witnessing, and presence.

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That creates a practical problem with an AI-generated document: who is responsible for making sure the finished document is actually executed correctly? 

A person may still need to determine:

• who can properly serve as witnesses;

• when and how everyone must sign;

• whether the will should be self-proved;

• whether notarization is appropriate;

• whether an electronic execution method satisfies Missouri law;

• and how the final document should be preserved so it can actually be located and used after death.

A self-proved Missouri will can avoid the need to establish execution through witness testimony in the ordinary probate process, which is another reason execution formalities matter rather than functioning as mere paperwork.

AI Only Knows What You Tell It.

An AI system can respond to the facts and instructions you provide, but estate-planning problems often arise from facts a person does not realize are legally important.

For example, the appropriate plan may depend on how real estate is titled, whether accounts already have beneficiary designations, whether property is jointly owned, whether there are children from a prior relationship, whether a beneficiary is a minor or has special needs, whether probate avoidance is important, or whether long-term-care planning should be considered.

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If those issues are never raised, the resulting document may look complete while failing to address an important part of the client’s actual situation.

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One of the main functions of an estate-planning attorney is not simply drafting documents, but identifying the questions that need to be asked before those documents are prepared.

A Will Does Not Control Everything You Own.

A will generally controls only property that becomes part of your probate estate. Many assets may pass outside of probate because of beneficiary designations, joint ownership, transfer-on-death arrangements, beneficiary deeds, or trust ownership.

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That means a well-written will can still fail to accomplish the overall plan if the ownership and beneficiary structure of the assets points in a different direction.

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For example, a beneficiary designation on a retirement account may control who receives that account regardless of what the will says. The same can be true for jointly owned property or property subject to another non-probate transfer arrangement.

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Estate planning therefore requires coordination between the documents and the assets themselves. Drafting a will is only one part of that process.

The Error May Not Be Discovered Until It Is Too Late.

One of the difficult things about estate-planning mistakes is that they may remain hidden for years. A document can look complete, be stored away, and never be tested until the person who created it has died or become incapacitated.

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At that point, there may be no practical way to ask what was intended, correct an ambiguity, obtain a missing signature, fix a beneficiary designation, or revise a planning decision that no longer works.

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That is why estate planning is not only about producing documents. It is also about reducing the chance that important problems remain undiscovered until the people affected by them have the fewest options available.

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The value of legal review is often not that every estate plan is complicated, but that potential problems can be identified while they are still fixable.

What Does an Estate-Planning Attorney Add?

An estate-planning attorney does more than draft documents. The attorney’s role is to understand the client’s goals, identify legal and practical issues that may affect the plan, recommend appropriate strategies, prepare the necessary documents, and help make sure the plan is properly implemented.

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That may include reviewing how assets are titled, identifying beneficiary-designation issues, considering probate exposure, planning for incapacity, addressing minor or vulnerable beneficiaries, coordinating business or real-estate interests, and explaining how the different parts of the plan work together.

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The value is not simply access to legal language. It is the judgment involved in deciding what the plan should accomplish and how the pieces should fit together.