What is INHERIT?#
INHERIT is an open data standard for estate planning. It gives wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and related estate information a shared digital format — structured, validated, and jurisdiction-aware.
What problem does it solve?#
Estate data is scattered across documents, software, and institutions in incompatible formats. When someone dies, executors make dozens of phone calls because systems cannot share data. INHERIT provides a common language so estate information can flow between platforms automatically.
Who is it for?#
- Legal professionals — capture estate concepts in a software-friendly format without losing legal nuance
- Developers — build with JSON Schema, TypeScript, Python, Go, Java, or C# SDKs
- Institutions — banks, insurers, registries, and governments can exchange estate data in a standard format
How does it work with existing tools?#
INHERIT complements platforms like Clio, Actionstep, and Wealth.com by mapping their data models to structured estate schemas. It works alongside FHIR for healthcare-estate overlap. It does not replace any existing software — it provides the interoperability layer between them.
Is it free?#
Yes. Apache 2.0 licence. Free to use, modify, and distribute. No licensing fees, no registration, no restrictions on commercial use.