Last Will and Testament

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

Prerequisites

Testator identity — full legal name, residence (city, county, state), testamentary capacity confirmation
Family structure — spouse, prior marriages, all children (biological, adopted, step), minors, prenup/postnup
Fiduciary nominees — executor + alternate; guardian(s) + alternate(s) if minor children
Asset inventory — real property, personal property, business interests, digital assets
Existing estate plan — prior wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, joint tenancies, POD/TOD accounts
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:

Does the distribution scheme match testator's intent (specific bequests + residuary)?
Are fiduciary appointments and guardian nominations correct?
Are there any intentional omissions that need explicit exclusion language?
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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