Gather the family picture first
Collect family, asset, and beneficiary details through online intake forms and questionnaires that populate the matter record.
Wills and probate software for intake, drafting, updates, and administration
Draft the full plan set
Generate wills, trusts, and lasting powers of attorney 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 client 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 client care letter. 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 LPAs 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 your precedents. Build templates from your firm’s own will precedents.
- Sign where permitted. A will is printed for signature and witnessing in the usual way.
Research the law behind each will
Capacity, will formalities, trusts, and inheritance tax all shape the advice. Clio researches your question under the law of England and Wales and returns cited authority. Scotland can be searched separately where succession law differs. You weigh how each source applies to the client’s plan.
- Check the formalities. Research signing and witnessing requirements for a valid will.
- 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, inheritance tax forms, notices, 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 client account funds. Run three-way reconciliation through the QuickBooks Online and Xero integrations.
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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
I’m earning about 40% more revenue per month based on the same amount of time and effort. A lot of that has to do with my ability to seamlessly flow clients from intake through to resolving their case.
Robert Jewett Law PLLC
Wills and probate software FAQs
What is wills and probate 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 the law of England and Wales, and summarises the file when the client returns, and each result goes to the solicitor for review. That history is there when an executor later needs help with probate.
How is Clio different from standalone will writing software?
Clio connects the documents you draft to intake answers, related contacts, cited research, deadlines, client messages, billing, and client 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 probate software produce?
Your firm’s own wills, trusts, lasting powers of attorney, and client care 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 the signing and witnessing rules in England and Wales.
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 wills through the secure portal. When the file reopens, Clio can summarise those records for your review.
Does Clio include legal research for wills and probate?
Yes. Clio’s legal AI covers the Wills Act 1837, the Administration of Estates Act 1925, the Inheritance Tax Act 1984, the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, and case law on testamentary capacity. Ask a question such as the witnessing requirements for a valid will, and it returns cited authority. Scotland can be searched separately where succession law differs. You evaluate each source before relying on it.
Does Clio’s probate case management software track deadlines and applications?
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. Your firm checks every date and filing before it goes out.
Does Clio handle client money for wills and probate matters?
Yes. Clio keeps client and office funds on separate ledgers and records each deposit, transfer, and disbursement for the correct client and matter. Request money on account by payment link, get an alert when a client’s balance drops below your threshold, and apply client funds to a bill. Three-way reconciliation runs through the QuickBooks Online and Xero integrations. Your firm remains responsible for meeting the SRA Accounts Rules.
Does Clio integrate with will writing software?
Yes. The Arken Professional integration sends client details from Clio to Arken, so details entered in Clio are ready when you prepare the will in Arken.