Gather the family picture first
Collect family, asset, and beneficiary details through online intake forms and questionnaires that populate the matter record.
Wills and estates law software for intake, drafting, updates, and probate
Draft the full plan set
Generate wills, trusts, enduring powers of attorney, and advance care directives from the client’s approved answers, with conditional logic keeping each instrument consistent.
Update what changed
Pull up the last signed set and prior versions when a client returns after a marriage, birth, or sale, then revise only what’s affected.
Start administration
Start a probate matter for the executor with the will, earlier advice, and related contacts already in Clio, tracked through matter stages and trust accounting.
Begin every plan with the family it serves
A first meeting can surface a blended family, a closely held business, and doubts about capacity. Online intake and related contacts record each spouse, child, executor, and trustee on the matter, and you decide how the plan treats them.
- Check conflicts first. Run a conflict search across every contact and matter before the consultation.
- Collect prior documents. Clients upload earlier wills, trusts, and deeds through the secure portal.
- Send the costs agreement. Each client signs by e-signature from any device.
Protect the details a family shares nowhere else
Matter permissions stay in force when the platform helps prepare the work. Firm data is not used to train third-party models, and cited research, drafts, and proposed next steps remain available for professional review before use.
Draft the will, trusts, and powers as one set
Clio fills every document from your document templates and one client questionnaire, or Clio’s legal AI prepares a draft from the matter. You approve the language.
- Apply conditional clauses. Include provisions only when an answer calls for them.
- Start from a library. Use Clio’s free estate planning templates as a base.
- Sign where permitted. Wills often still need a wet signature.
Research how succession law differs by state and territory
Capacity standards, witness requirements, and trust rules vary across jurisdictions. Clio researches your question across the states and territories you choose and returns cited authority. You weigh how each source applies to the client’s plan.
- Compare requirements between states and territories. See each jurisdiction’s witness requirements together.
- Check case treatment. Signals mark decisions that were later criticised or overruled.
- Keep research on file. Findings stay with the matter.
Revise the plan after a life event
Years later, a second marriage or a business sale can change what the plan must do. The last signed set and its prior versions stay on the matter, and Clio summarises the file. You decide what to update.
- Prepare for the meeting. Review the summary before the client arrives.
- Refresh affected documents. Update the answers, then generate the set again.
- Schedule review dates. Set a calendar reminder to revisit the plan.
Carry the planning history into probate and administration
After a client’s death, the will and earlier advice are already in Clio when the executor’s estate matter opens. Matter stages and task lists move the application for a grant of probate or letters of administration, notices, the inventory of assets and liabilities, and distributions forward. You direct each step.
- Hold estate details. Custom fields store executor, beneficiary, and asset data.
- Answer beneficiary questions. Secure messages keep each exchange with the estate.
- Reconcile trust funds. Check each balance against your bank statement in Clio.
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400,000+ legal professionals trust Clio
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100+ law societies and bar associations recognise Clio
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4.7/5 average rating across 13,000+ reviews
Clio Manage has completely transformed the way I run my legal practice. From client intake to final invoicing, everything is streamlined and accessible in one place. I love how intuitive it is, how easily I can keep track of every matter, and how much time it saves me. It’s not just software—it’s peace of mind for a busy lawyer!
Adele Anthony Legal
Estate planning and probate software FAQs
What is wills and estates law software?
It’s a system that holds an estate client’s family, executors, trustees, assets, documents, deadlines, and billing on one matter. Clio adds legal AI that prepares documents from that record, researches state and territory law, and summarises the file when the client returns, and each result goes to the lawyer for review. That history is there when an executor later needs help with probate.
How is Clio different from standalone estate planning legal software?
Clio connects the documents you draft to intake answers, related contacts, cited research, deadlines, client messages, billing, and trust accounting on a single matter, so nothing is re-entered when an administration matter opens. Clio’s legal AI works from that shared context, and your firm approves everything it creates.
What can Clio’s wills and trust software produce?
Your firm’s own wills, trusts, enduring powers of attorney, advance care directives, and client letters become reusable templates, filled from one questionnaire with conditional logic. Clio can prepare a draft from the matter for unusual provisions. You review every instrument, and wills follow your state or territory’s signing and witnessing rules.
Can Clio track beneficiaries, executors, trustees, and estate assets?
Yes. Custom fields hold dates of birth, dates of death, asset details, and executor and trustee roles, and related contacts link each spouse, child, executor, trustee, and beneficiary to the matter. Clients upload deeds, statements, and existing plans through the secure portal. When the file reopens, Clio can summarise those records for your review.
Does Clio include legal research for estate planning?
Yes. Clio’s legal AI covers Commonwealth law and all eight states and territories on testamentary capacity, trusts, succession legislation, family provision claims, superannuation death benefits, and enduring guardianship. Ask a question such as the witness requirements for a valid will, and it compares the states and territories you select with cited authority. You evaluate each source before relying on it.
Does Clio’s probate case management software track court deadlines and filings?
Yes. Calendaring keeps review dates, filing deadlines, and other key dates on the matter, and Clio can read a court notice and propose calendar events that you confirm. Task lists track each step of the probate application to the Supreme Court of your state or territory. Your firm checks every date and filing before it goes out.
Does Clio handle trust accounting for estate planning retainers?
Yes. Clio keeps trust and operating funds on separate ledgers and records each deposit, transfer, and disbursement for the correct client and matter. Request a retainer by payment link, get an alert when an evergreen balance drops below your threshold, pay invoices from trust, and reconcile against your bank statement. Your firm remains accountable to the trust accounting rules of its state or territory.
Does Clio connect with the tools my firm already uses?
Yes. Clio connects with document drafting, accounting, and productivity software through the Clio app directory, including QuickBooks, Xero, DocuSign, and Google Drive, so client and matter data flows without duplicate entry.