It’s one of the most valuable resources we have, but also one of the most limited: time.
While it’s not fun to think about what happens when that time runs out, it’s a necessary evil. That’s why making sure your final wishes for your family and loved ones are clear and legally-sound.
But the idea of using artificial intelligence to write your last will and testament should make you think twice.
“It’s really a good starting point to get an understanding of what it may look like, but I would say that the issue at play here is that you have no way of knowing if it’s going to be enforceable,” said Anthony Martin, the CEO of Choice Mutual, a life insurance agency that specializes in final expense insurance.
A new survey conducted by Choice Mutual shows that 48% of Utahns say they would consider using AI to write their will, citing convenience, speed and cost-effectiveness.
But there’s much to consider when taking a shortcut.
“If you consider if you’ve got any liquid assets or even physical assets, and you want them to go to certain people in the will, if it’s not set up properly, according to the law, especially with the state laws that may be applicable, then it may not be the case that it goes to them or who you want to go to,” said Martin.
And there are more risks. A will drawn up by artificial intelligence can lack witness signatures or be improperly formatted. Ambiguity in language can cause disputes between heirs.
Also, AI doesn’t know specifics about your family: Do people have special needs? Is your family blended? Who is a dependent? An AI-written will would not account for those factors.
Back in September, FOX 13 News talked to Lending Tree about their survey that revealed 26% of chatbot users used AI to make financial decisions.
The author and researcher behind that survey says artificial intelligence doesn’t have to be completely discounted when it comes to your financial planning. But just remember:
“They’re good for general, personal finance questions," said Carol Pope, "but if you’re going to use it for something that requires extensive planning, it’s very important to tell the LLM [large language model] your full story because it won’t always ask clarifying questions, and if you don’t know that that piece of information is important, then you wouldn’t know to put it in the prompt."
AI or not, revisit and regularly update your will as life circumstances change. If you do decide to use AI, Martin says to treat it as a draft and not a document, and make sure you have that document reviewed by an estate planning attorney.
“AI will continue to evolve. It will continue to get better,” said Martin. “I would say never allow yourself to become persuaded that it’s going to be so good that you don’t need an attorney to create legal documents that have profound impacts.”
