CaseMark 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-directivereference 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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