Generative AI may transform everything relating to trust and estate practice — from research to drafting to client communication. With new efficiencies, however, come new risks for trusts and estates practitioners. Tim Ferges presents at the Virginia State Bar Association Trusts and Estates Section’s 45th Annual Trusts and Estates Seminar on Artificial Intelligence. He will discuss how generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has been both heralded and bemoaned for its potential to transform the practice of law. This presentation provides a broad, accessible survey of GenAI technologies that may be useful in law practice. It explains (in layperson terms) how these systems were trained and how they operate, with the goal of illuminating the technical and theoretical issues behind the models’ well-documented reliability concerns. It also examines recent developments in the implementation of GenAI in all areas of trust and estate practice, including planning, administration, and fiduciary litigation. Finally, it identifies the principal risks and pitfalls lawyers should consider when incorporating generative AI into their work.
10.22.2026