“If you look down, what you see may not be legally binding.”
Like most people, I listen to podcasts on a regular basis. One episode heard lately had absolutely nothing to do with the law, but mentioned the issue of “informed consent.” That led me down the legal rabbit hole considering my duties as a lawyer with potential clients.
Every time I or one of our associate attorneys meets with a potential client, we must obtain their informed consent to provide them with legal services. And what exactly is informed consent?
- Ensuring that our potential client has the requisite mental capacity to take the steps they want to take. For example, the capacity needed to establish a Last Will and Testament requires that a potential client knows what they have and its approximate value, who their heirs would be, what they want to do with their estate assets, and understands the consequences of the distribution scheme they have in mind.
- Next, they must have accurate knowledge related to the services they are seeking. Using the Will as an example again, a potential client must know that an estranged spouse, can, in Illinois reject the Will and take 1/3 of the Estate.
- Related to the two elements above, a potential client must then understand the implications of their actions, like establishing a Will that disinherits an estranged spouse or doesn’t mention an estranged spouse. Can you say probate? Oh,..and then we have to explain what that is.
- After all of the above, the potential client then must have the freedom to say “no thank you” to our pitch. If Junior is sitting next to Grandma whispering in her ear and Grandma says reluctantly, “Ok. Who do I make the check out to and give everything to Junior,” Houston, we could have a problem.
- Finally, Grandma must provide us with the authority to prepare the Will. If Grandma says, “sounds good,” I’ll talk to my family and walk away. Grandma hasn’t given us authority to do anything.
Now… I’ve a few questions: (1) When you sign up for one of the online platforms, are you providing your informed consent? (2) And if so, to whom? (3) What AI program or online platform took and survived the bar exam?
I love technology, but leaving issues involving family and money to something that is artificial and has no real world experience in probate courts is a high-wire act, to say the least.