Today’s Blog was written by Courtney Lanthier, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP

Can it? Probably. Should it? Probably not.

While the use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) seems to be a rising trend these days, it’s important to note that even though it has certain capabilities, that doesn’t mean it should be used for everything. Specifically, drafting Wills – at least not yet. It may seem like a quick solution to getting one’s wishes into a document, but in turn, it could actually end up causing more harm than good.

Professionals who work in this field know and understand the complexities surrounding Will planning and estate administration, which is, of course, reliant on the roadmap provided by the Will, the powers granted to the executors therein and the legal principles that apply to the execution of the roadmap, in the context of the creditors of the estate and the beneficiary circumstances. Not only that, but many of these professionals have experience, and can often identify what may cause problems later on.  AI tools may not quite be ready to bring this all together at the Will preparation stage.

Some key points to consider when/if you’re advising clients of the potential issues surrounding AI in regards to their estate planning needs are:

• Errors – while the capabilities of these AI programs are impressive, there is still the potential for error. For example, the misuse of “and” or “or” can completely alter a provision when dealing with the administration of a Will. Simple errors like this could end up costing thousands of dollars, not to mention defeating client intentions, if a Will is ever challenged.
• Use of trusts and specific provisions – it’s unclear how an AI program would handle the need for something like a Henson Trust, or how it would deal with the requirement for equalizing payments among beneficiaries. These provisions can be extremely important when dealing with beneficiaries who are receiving other benefits, or to ensure fairness among siblings receiving payments under their parents’ Wills.
• Connections to lawyers – in an area of law that can be a bit more sensitive in nature, it may be comforting to know that someone is dealing with a human being who is more sympathetic to a client’s situation and can bring their judgment to bear on how to handle various aspects of their estate, such as difficult family dynamics and relationships.
• Providing asset information – in many cases, one would need to provide sensitive asset information in order to get a well rounded picture of their estate prior to engaging in any sort of planning. With the constant rise in security hacks and threats, it may not be ideal to provide that kind of information to an online database.

AI will inevitably become a welcome addition to many aspects of our daily lives, but for now, it may be best to not attempt to use AI tools to prepare a Will plan.

But who knows, maybe one day we will even be able to use AI to write blog posts…