Last Will and Testament

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.

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

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

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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