Will Drafting Without Compromise - Beyond the Commoditised Will

Technology can draft a document, but it can't understand the nuances of a family or the complexities of an estate. As family structures evolve and estate planning becomes more complex, the future lies in using document automation to streamline drafting, creating more time for the conversations that define an exceptional private client experience.

There have never been more ways to create a will. Online questionnaires can generate a legally valid document in minutes. AI produces draft clauses on demand. Free will-writing campaigns are now commonplace. Creating a will is becoming increasingly commoditised, but these solutions are generally best suited to the neat, straightforward 'leave everything to my spouse' scenario.

Modern families require more than a cookie-cutter approach to preparing a will

For many families, creating a will is far from straightforward. Office for National Statistics data shows that cohabiting couples now account for almost one in five UK families, continuing a steady shift away from the traditional married couple model. Unlike married couples, cohabiting partners do not have the same inheritance rights, and this makes careful estate planning increasingly important. Add to that the 781,000 stepfamilies identified in the latest Census for England and Wales, and it’s clear that estate planning today often involves more than a single household or a single generation.

Blended families, second marriages, unmarried partners, vulnerable beneficiaries and family businesses all introduce complexity that a simple online form can never fully accommodate. At first glance, two clients may appear to need exactly the same thing – a legally valid will. One wants to leave everything to their spouse. The conversation is relatively straightforward. The other has children from a previous marriage, a long-term partner they are not married to, elderly parents they still support, and a family business they hope will remain within the family. Both clients may leave with a legally robust will, but the journey to get there can be vastly different. In the second scenario, in addition to producing a compliant document, the solicitor will also work closely with the client to navigate competing interests and translate their personal wishes accurately into clear instructions. In these circumstances, the reassurance and professional judgement of an experienced solicitor are invaluable.

Ensuring people remain at the heart of private client work

The need for specialist legal advice is clear, but it also presents a challenge for private client teams. With clients now accustomed to low-cost (or even free) will writing, fee pressure has never been greater. However, the time required to understand a client's circumstances and provide considered legal advice cannot simply be compressed. Instead, firms are looking elsewhere for efficiencies.

The economics of this work are shifting in another way too. Winning a client's probate instructions used to follow almost automatically from having drafted their will; that link is now far less reliable, so will drafting increasingly has to stand on its own economics rather than being treated as a loss-leader for future fees. At the same time, private client remains one of the hardest teams to recruit for, which makes confident delegation, not just faster drafting, essential if firms want to take on more work without adding risk or headcount.

This is precisely the challenge Clarilis’ new Private Client Suite is designed to address. Our pre-automated suite of precedents is based on Parker’s Will Precedents, curated content from leading UK law firm Mills & Reeve, and content from the Office of the Public Guardian. Together, this enables firms to produce a complete suite of wills, including trusts, lasting powers of attorney, and all the related letters and documents more efficiently, without compromising the quality of advice.

Using the Clarilis automation, routine drafting tasks that once took hours can be completed in around five minutes for a straightforward case, or closer to ten where things are more complex. As a result, firms can deliver a faster, more consistent private client experience while responding to the pressures of an increasingly price-sensitive market. But the result is not simply a faster turnaround of documents. With trusted legal guidance embedded directly into the drafting workflow, firms can maintain quality and consistency across teams and offices, while confidently delegating appropriate work to less experienced professionals without increasing risk. This frees more experienced solicitors to focus on helping clients navigate complex circumstances, applying the professional judgement that no questionnaire or AI prompt can replicate.

Designed for every client (not just the simple ones)

As we discussed in the introduction, private client work varies significantly based on an individual’s circumstances. One client may need a straightforward will leaving everything to their spouse, while another may require provisions for a blended family, a carefully structured trust, or lasting powers of attorney to plan for the future. The Private Client Suite has been designed to adapt to the full spectrum of advice, delivering speed and efficiency wherever possible, while preserving the flexibility to add bespoke advice where needed.

Mirror wills are a good example of this in practice. Rather than drafting one client's will and duplicating it as a starting point for the second, the Suite drafts both simultaneously from a single questionnaire, matching how the client interview actually happens. Shared instructions are captured once, while individual provisions, a child from a previous relationship, a different view on guardianship, a specific gift etc.- are layered in wherever a couple's circumstances differ. The result is two wills that read as though drafted for two people, not one document copied and amended for the second.

In private client work, more than any other practice area, professional presentation is crucial. When an individual entrusts a solicitor with writing their will, the quality of the final document matters. Professionally drafted, consistently formatted precedents, produced as an editable Word document in the firm's own house style, give lawyers the flexibility they need, and clients the confidence that the professional care shown throughout the consultation is reflected in the document they ultimately sign.

Automate the drafting, not the advice

Technology may be changing the way wills are produced, but it is also reinforcing the value of expert legal advice. When it comes to wills and powers of attorney, the consultation stage has always been where the real value is created. It is when solicitors ask the difficult questions, navigate sensitive family dynamics and help clients make informed decisions. With its focus on high-quality drafting, process efficiency and consistency, the Clarilis Private Client Suite creates more time for those conversations, helping teams build competitive practices without compromising on the quality of advice or the personal touch that makes them exceptional.

Discover how the Clarilis Private Client Suite helps firms streamline drafting while creating more time to deliver the expert advice clients value most. Register for our webinar to see a live demonstration.