Wills, probate and private client
Probate got faster. The pressure moved somewhere else.
Digital probate grants now take a couple of weeks. But estate administration is still done by hand, wills are moving to AI, and many private client firms are turning away complex work because they don't have the capacity.
52%.
The share of UK wills drafted by a solicitor.
Where the hours go in private client work.
Estate administration. Estate accounts, asset gathering and letters to banks and institutions, done by hand.
Inheritance tax. Forms and calculations prepared from scratch.
Executors and beneficiaries. Calls and emails asking how things are going.
Stopped applications. Probate applications that hit a query and fall back to paper.
Drafting. Wills and lasting powers of attorney built from old precedents.
The systems you don't control.
The probate service.
Digital applications now average about two weeks, down from twelve at the end of 2023. Non standard cases still drop out to paper.
Electronic wills.
The Law Commission recommended electronic wills in May 2025. The government's response is still awaited, but the change is coming.
Consumer AI.
72% of adults aged 30 to 34 say they'd consider using AI to update their will. Tests of free AI tools produced wills with inaccurate wording.
What firms like yours are doing.
Private client fees rose 14% in 2025, so the work is there. The firms taking it are using AI safely for the first drafts and the letters, and taking the repeated admin out of estate administration, so their people have time for the complex work they used to turn away.
If you're 5 to 20 fee earners.
Start with an AI Day. Getting drafting and letters done safely with AI frees time fastest, and costs least.
If you're 20 to 50 fee earners.
Start with an Assessment, to find out where estate administration loses the most time and what to automate first.
What the regulator expects.
AI drafting.
A will drafted with AI is still the firm's will. The SRA's August 2026 warning notice means every AI output needs a named person who checked it.
Vulnerable clients.
Private client work involves older and vulnerable clients. Their data, and how it's used, needs particular care.
Complaints.
Wills and probate are 13 to 14% of complaints accepted by the Legal Ombudsman, mostly about delay and communication.
Where to start.
Questions private client partners ask.
Can AI draft wills safely?
It can produce a first draft from your own precedents, with a solicitor checking every word. Free consumer tools are a different matter. The firm needs a tool with the right terms and a clear rule on who checks.
We're a small private client firm. Is this for us?
Yes. An AI Day works from 5 fee earners, and small firms often feel the difference most.
Can you automate estate administration?
Much of it. Letters to institutions, asset schedules, estate accounts and updates to executors can be generated from the file.
What about electronic wills?
They're not law yet. When they are, firms whose drafting and records are already digital will find the change easiest.
Make room for the work you turn away.
A first conversation costs nothing. We'll tell you where a private client firm of your size usually starts.