Online will questionnaire for solicitors before the meeting

Much of a first will meeting goes on writing down names, dates of birth, addresses and a list of assets before the real conversation starts. If a firm sees 30 new will clients a month and 25 minutes of each meeting is spent collecting those details, that's 750 minutes, 12.5 hours of solicitor time a month.

A Jotform questionnaire, sent when the appointment is booked, asks for family details, executors, guardians, main assets and any existing will, with conditional logic so people only see the questions that apply to them. Jotform's security page says form data can be moved to its EU servers in Frankfurt and that submissions can be encrypted so only the holder of the password can read them. The solicitor reads the answers before the meeting and spends the meeting on the client's wishes, any concerns and capacity. The form gives no advice and decides nothing.

A three-solicitor firm in Harrogate sees about 30 new will clients a month. It sends a Jotform questionnaire link with each appointment confirmation, and the solicitor reviews the answers the day before the meeting.

About $599£450€536A$864C$846 a month of solicitor time, if that time is worth $80£60€71A$115C$113 an hour: 15 minutes saved on each of 30 meetings is 450 minutes, 7.5 hours. Bronze is €34 (about $39£29€35A$56C$55) a month billed annually or €39 (about $45£34€40A$65C$64) monthly, which covers 25 forms and 1,000 submissions a month for one user.

1. 1Write the questionnaire from your attendance note template: people, executors, guardians, assets and existing wills. Ask only what you need.
2. 2Move the account to Jotform's EU servers and turn on form encryption before any client uses it.
3. 3Ask Jotform for its data processing terms, and have your data protection lead approve the form and its privacy wording under UK GDPR.
4. 4Send the link with appointment confirmations, and offer a paper copy or a call to anyone who prefers it.
5. 5Read every answer before the meeting and confirm the details with the client in person; the solicitor takes the instructions.

• A questionnaire can be filled in by someone other than the client, such as a relative hoping for a gift. Take instructions from the client alone and record how you were satisfied about capacity and pressure.
• Jotform's security page says encryption doesn't cover file uploads, so don't ask clients to upload documents through the form.
• The free Starter plan shows Jotform branding and allows 100 submissions a month. Use a paid plan with data processing terms for client data; Bronze is for one user.
• Health details and children's information are sensitive. Leave health questions for the meeting and collect only what the will needs.