Is it allowed to use AI for wills and estate planning in Australia?
Yes, for a first draft from the solicitor’s instructions. Capacity, the gifts and execution stay with the solicitor. The Wills Act is the state’s, not the tool’s.
Guide
How to use AI for wills and estate planning in Australia
A will is formal. A tool can turn written instructions into a first draft. Capacity, the gifts and the execution are the solicitor’s, and a client’s own chatbot will is a warning, not a precedent.
Steps
Draft only from instructions the solicitor has taken
The first draft follows the attendance note, in the firm’s approved tool. It does not invent gifts, executors or a family the client did not describe. Queensland Guidance Statement No. 37 is the check on where that note is processed.
The solicitor checks capacity, formalities and the gifts
Capacity, knowledge and approval, who benefits, who is left out, and the execution rules of the Wills Act that governs the will are not a formatting pass. The Law Society of New South Wales guide and the Uniform Law regulators’ statement leave that work with the solicitor. Witnessing rules are not the same in every state. Open the Act you are using.
Warn clients about a will a chatbot produced alone
A document a client generated without advice can fail execution, miss an eligible person, or dispose of an asset the client does not own. Say that plainly. Offer to read it as instructions, not as a will you will witness unread.
Record the checks: Wills and estates tasks · Open the court note for the forum
Sources
Wills and estates tasks · Law firm AI policy · Telling clients about AI use · All guides
Questions
What tools are used for wills and estate planning?
Use the firm’s approved drafting tenancy. This page does not list a specialist wills product, and a consumer chatbot is not one.
Is a will written by a chatbot valid?
Only if it meets the formalities and the client had capacity. Many do not. Do not witness one you have not read, and do not tell the client the tool has made it valid.