I get asked some version of this question more and more: “I had ChatGPT write my will. Why would I pay a lawyer to do something a computer can do in thirty seconds?”
It’s a reasonable question. A will drafted that way usually looks like a will. It has the right headings, the right legal words, and a place to sign at the bottom. If you didn’t know what to look for, you’d assume it was fine.
But producing something that looks like a will was never the hard part.
What South Carolina requires
Start with the formalities, because this is where people assume they’re on safe ground.
Under S.C. Code § 62-2-502, a will in South Carolina generally must be in writing and signed by the person making it, or by someone else signing in that person’s presence and at their direction. It also has to be signed by at least two witnesses, each of whom saw either the signing or the person acknowledging the signature or the will. A lot of people are surprised to learn that South Carolina does not accept a will just because it’s in your own handwriting. Without witnesses, it generally doesn’t count.
Then there’s S.C. Code § 62-2-503, which allows a will to be self proved. You and your witnesses sign a sworn affidavit before a notary, either at the same time you sign the will or later. The practical benefit is that when the will is eventually probated, the court generally doesn’t need to go find your witnesses and have them confirm what happened. If one of them has moved to Arizona or passed away in the meantime, your family will be glad you took that step.
In practice, homemade wills fall apart here all the time. Someone signs alone at the kitchen table. Or they get one witness instead of two. Or the notary page is missing. Or the person who inherits everything is also standing there as a witness, which invites problems nobody needed. A well worded will that isn’t signed properly may not do anything at all.
Valid isn’t the same as good
Still, the signing isn’t my biggest worry. Anyone who follows the rules carefully can get a will executed correctly.
What worries me is this, a will can be technically valid and still be a terrible estate plan.
Valid just means the probate court will accept it. It doesn’t mean the document does what you wanted, or that it fits your family, your property, or the way your assets are actually titled.
When a client first sits down, what they tell me is usually a sentence or two. “Everything goes to my wife, then to the kids.” That sounds complete. It almost never is.
So I ask. Is this your first marriage? Does either of you have children from a prior relationship? If your wife outlives you and inherits everything, she can generally leave it to whoever she wants, including only her own children. Are you comfortable with that? Plenty of people have never considered it, and it’s one of the most common reasons blended families end up fighting in probate court.
Do you have children under 18? Who should raise them? Is that the same person you trust to manage their money? Sometimes yes, sometimes absolutely not. And do you want a child turning 18 and receiving a paid off house and a life insurance check with no guidance? Once parents think about that, most of them want a trust.
Who should be your personal representative? People tend to name the oldest child without asking whether that child lives three states away, doesn’t get along with the others, or can’t keep up with paperwork.
What do you own, and how is it titled? This one matters more than people realize. A will only controls what passes through your estate. If your house is owned jointly with right of survivorship, the will doesn’t decide who gets it. Retirement accounts and life insurance go to whoever is named on the beneficiary form. I have seen wills that divided everything equally among three children while the largest asset, an IRA, still named an ex spouse. The will was perfectly valid. The plan was a disaster.
What if one of your children dies before you do? Should that share go to the grandchildren, or to your other children? South Carolina has default rules that cover some of this, but they may not match what you’d want, and relying on defaults is not a plan.
Do you own a business? Rental property? Land in another state, which can mean a second probate there? What happens if you don’t die but instead have a stroke or develop dementia? A will does nothing while you’re alive. That’s the job of a durable power of attorney and health care documents, and they have to fit together with the will.
None of this is unusual. I deal with some version of these issues nearly every week. The trouble with a computer generated will is that these questions only get addressed if you already know to raise them, and most people don’t know what they don’t know. That’s not a knock on anyone. It’s simply not something most folks have any reason to think about.
A program also can’t see what I see across the desk. It doesn’t notice when someone pauses before naming a child as executor, or mentions a son “we don’t really hear from,” or says the farm has been in the family for four generations. Those moments usually matter more than anything written on the intake form.
So is AI useless here?
No. If you want to use it to learn what “intestate” or “personal representative” means, or to jot down a list of questions before your appointment, that’s fine. Coming in prepared is always helpful.
Just don’t mistake a document for a plan. Use it to get ready for the conversation with your lawyer, not to skip the conversation.
What the job actually is
When people ask me that question, my answer usually turns into more questions. Is there a second marriage? A child from a prior relationship? A lake house titled in two names? A 401(k) nobody has looked at in fifteen years? A will that doesn’t account for those things can be perfectly valid and still leave a family with a mess.
That’s the real work of estate planning. It isn’t typing, and it isn’t filling in blanks. It’s making sure the documents you sign actually match the life and family they’re meant to protect.
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