Creating a will online with a will generator: convenient, but risky?

More and more people are turning to the internet for information on wills and estate planning. Will generators—online tools used to create wills—appear to offer a quick, inexpensive, and legally secure solution. However, relying solely on will-writing software is not without its risks.

What are will generators?

Will generators are online tools, some of which are supported by artificial intelligence, that guide users through a series of questions to produce a ‘personalised’ draft will based on their responses.

The questions typically relate to matters such as marital status, children, business ownership, or the scope of one’s assets. Users are also asked to specify who should inherit, and whether, for instance, any specific bequests should be made. Once the questionnaire is complete, the will generator produces a proposed draft, which can be downloaded or printed.

Because these tools collect personal information, the resulting documents tend to be more tailored than generic templates. Depending on the level of detail in the questionnaire, will generators may offer certain advantages over standard templates.

What are the risks of creating a will online?

When it comes to your own inheritance, very personal matters and very individual life situations need to be taken into account in a will. A will is only a ‘good’ will if it takes into account your individual life sitWhen it comes to planning your estate, a will must reflect deeply personal circumstances and individual life situations. A will is only effective if it accounts for your specific family dynamics and financial affairs.

This is where the greatest weakness of will generators lies—and therefore the greatest risk when using them: they are unable to accurately capture complex personal or financial scenarios, develop appropriate solutions, or express them correctly in legal terms.

Generators quickly reach their limits, particularly in more complex situations such as:

• blended families,
• real estate holdings,
• business assets, and/or
• cross-border estate elements (e.g. property located abroad).

In such cases, will generators often fail to flag these limitations. The same applies to common legal pitfalls in estate planning, such as compulsory share claims when legal heirs are disinherited—for example, when spouses name each other as sole heirs and intend for children to inherit only after the second spouse passes. Will generators are also generally unable to consider the implications of inheritance tax or do so only inadequately, even though tax planning plays a crucial role in structuring an estate.

In short, the key risk of using will generators lies in the false sense of security they may create with seemingly simple solutions. Those who rely solely on such tools may inadvertently leave behind legal uncertainty, expose heirs to protracted disputes, and cause significant tax disadvantages. A properly drafted will should prevent exactly that.

What alternatives are there to will generators?

A sound and legally secure alternative to automatically generated online will templates is a handwritten will, prepared after thorough, personal consultation with a solicitor experienced in inheritance law—or ideally, a specialist solicitor for inheritance matters.

This type of consultation allows for a confidential discussion (protected by the solicitor’s duty of confidentiality) to fully address your specific family situation, financial circumstances, and personal wishes. These can then be incorporated into the will in a legally robust manner.

At the conclusion of the consultation, a personal will is drafted—together with a spouse if desired. To be valid, the final version must be handwritten and signed.

Will generators give a false sense of security

Will generators may be fast and appear cost-effective, but they quickly reach their limits in terms of content. This can lead to serious consequences for heirs, including years of legal disputes and considerable tax burdens. These resulting costs and disadvantages often far outweigh the fees charged by a qualified professional for preparing a well-structured will.

As such, will generators may serve as a basic starting point where the family situation is straightforward and the estate modest. However, they are no substitute for individualised legal advice—neither in terms of expertise nor personal support.

AI and algorithms cannot replace personal, empathetic legal advice

For most people, creating a will is an emotionally charged and deeply personal process. AI and automated tools/algorithms are not capable of understanding or supporting emotionally driven decisions with true empathy.

Even as artificial intelligence continues to improve in handling factual data, it remains fundamentally limited compared to human expertise—especially on a personal level. In the context of wills and estate planning, this human factor is critical: helping individuals feel confident and reassured that they have made the right decisions.

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