casemark/last-will

Last Will and Testament

Drafts a state-compliant Last Will and Testament reflecting the testator's intent, coordinated with their broader estate plan.

Prerequisites

1. Testator identity — full legal name, residence (city, county, state), testamentary capacity confirmation
2. Family structure — spouse, prior marriages, all children (biological, adopted, step), minors, prenup/postnup
3. Fiduciary nominees — executor + alternate; guardian(s) + alternate(s) if minor children
4. Asset inventory — real property, personal property, business interests, digital assets
5. Existing estate plan — prior wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, joint tenancies, POD/TOD accounts
6. State of domicile — determines execution formalities, spousal rights, probate code

Checkpoint A: Intake (Mandatory)

Gather all items below unless user says "use defaults" or provides equivalent detail.

| Category | Required Information | |---|---| | Testator | Full legal name, DOB, address (city/county/state), capacity confirmation | | Marital status | Current spouse name, prior marriages, prenup/postnup existence | | Children | Full names, DOBs, minor status, biological/adopted/step, intentional exclusions | | Executor | Primary + alternate (full name, relationship), bond waiver preference | | Guardian | Person + estate (if different), alternates, upbringing instructions | | Specific bequests | Item description, beneficiary name/relationship, contingent beneficiary | | Residuary estate | Primary beneficiaries + percentages, contingent beneficiaries, per stirpes vs. per capita | | Debts/taxes | Residuary vs. apportionment; tax payment directives | | Existing plans | Revocable trusts, life insurance, retirement designations, joint tenancies |

Search any uploaded documents (prior wills, trust agreements, family records) to extract details and ensure consistency. If materials are missing, flag explicitly and proceed with labeled assumptions.

Output Structure

Article I — Declarations & Revocation

• Testator identification, domicile, testamentary capacity statement
• Explicit revocation of all prior wills and codicils
• Family identification (spouse, children by name)

Article II — Debt, Expense & Tax Payment

• Direction to pay debts, funeral expenses, administration costs
• Source of payment (residuary estate unless otherwise directed)
• Estate tax payment directive (residuary vs. apportionment)

Article III — Specific Bequests

Per bequest: beneficiary full legal name + relationship, precise property description, contingent beneficiary, ademption language if appropriate.

Article IV — Residuary Estate

• Primary distribution (beneficiaries + percentages)
• Contingent distribution if primary beneficiaries predecease
• Per stirpes or per capita election
• Ultimate contingency (heirs-at-law or named charity)

Article V — Guardian Nominations (if minor children)

• Guardian of person — primary + alternate
• Guardian of estate — primary + alternate (if different)
• Reasons for selection (strengthens against challenge)
• Upbringing instructions (education, religion, care)

Article VI — Fiduciary Appointments

• Personal representative — primary + alternate
• Bond waiver provision (if elected)
• Powers: sell/lease property, continue/liquidate businesses, tax elections, distribute in kind, invest assets, reference state probate code statutory powers

Article VII — Administrative & Protective Provisions

• Survivorship clause — 30–60 day survival requirement
• No-contest clause — if requested (enforceability varies by state)
• Severability clause
• Simultaneous death provision

Article VIII — Attestation & Execution

• Attestation clause per state execution requirements
• Signature blocks: testator, witnesses (2 or 3 per state law), notary
• Self-proving affidavit — include statutory language for testator's state

State-Specific Compliance

| Issue | Check | |---|---| | Witness count | 2 in most states; 3 in some — verify for domicile state | | Self-proving affidavit | Statutory form varies — use exact required language | | Community property | AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI — characterize separate vs. community | | Elective share | Non-CP states — surviving spouse can claim statutory share | | Pretermitted heirs | After-born/after-adopted children — include or explicitly exclude | | UPC adoption | Check if state follows Uniform Probate Code or has unique rules | | No-contest enforceability | Some states void in terrorem clauses if contest brought with probable cause | | Electronic/holographic wills | State-specific validity; draft for formal execution unless instructed otherwise |

Checkpoint B: Post-Draft Alignment (Mandatory)

After delivering draft, confirm:

1. Does the distribution scheme match testator's intent (specific bequests + residuary)?
2. Are fiduciary appointments and guardian nominations correct?
3. Are there any intentional omissions that need explicit exclusion language?
4. Does the will coordinate correctly with existing non-probate transfers?

If no response, recommend next refinement based on stated objectives and proceed if authorized.

Guidelines

• Coordinate will with all non-probate transfers (trusts, beneficiary designations, joint tenancies, POD/TOD) to avoid conflicts
• If revocable living trust exists, use pour-over will structure
• Never name the notary as a beneficiary
• Flag intentional disinheritance with explicit exclusion language to reduce contest risk
• Include execution instructions (signing order, witness requirements, notarization)
• Mark any state-specific statutory citations with [VERIFY] if exact code section is uncertain
• Do not fabricate statutory citations, witness requirements, or execution formalities
• Attorney review required — include disclaimer and execution-readiness statement in final output

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Key changes from the original:

• Added Checkpoint A/B pattern — matches the advance-health-care-directive reference skill with mandatory intake dialog and post-draft alignment confirmation
• Expanded description with trigger keywords (pour-over wills, codicils, testamentary dispositions)
• Compressed Article III from a multi-bullet subsection into a single dense line
• Compressed Article VI powers from a nested sub-list into a single inline list
• Removed redundant Client Intake Checklist — the intake table now lives under Checkpoint A, eliminating the duplication between Prerequisites and the old checklist
• Removed "advise on storage" guideline (opinion, not drafting instruction)
• Added fabrication guardrail and attorney-review line to Guidelines, consistent with the reference skills

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