Free OpenClaw Skill for Estate Planning Attorneys: Trust Funding and Review Agent (Download)

What this skill does for your estate planning practices

• Maintains a funded-trust ledger per client showing which assets have been retitled into the revocable living trust and which are still in the client's name (the gap that defeats the whole plan).
• Drafts the every-3-year client review outreach so the practice does not lose touch with the families it set up plans for 10 years ago.
• Runs the annual Crummey notice cadence for Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs) so the gift-tax exclusion is preserved.
• Surfaces life-event triggers (births, deaths, marriages, divorces, new state of residence, federal estate tax exemption changes) that should prompt a plan review.
• Routes every client-facing message through the attorney for approval by default, with ABA Model Rule 1.6 confidentiality baked into the templates.

What's inside this OpenClaw skill

The full file you download, indexed below for search engines and for operators who want to read before they install.

---
name: estate-planning-trust-funding
description: Funded trust ledger, every-3-year client review, annual ILIT Crummey notice cadence, and life-event trigger surfacing for estate planning practices. Integrates with WealthCounsel, ElderCounsel, Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther.
version: 1.0.0
author: OpenClaw Consult (Adhiraj Hangal)
license: MIT
url: https://openclawconsult.com/skills/estate-planning-attorneys
---

# OpenClaw Skill: Estate Planning Trust Funding and Review Coordinator

## Overview

This skill turns the OpenClaw agent into the back-office coordinator for an
estate planning practice. It owns the funded-trust ledger, the every-3-year
client review cadence, the annual Crummey notice paperwork for Irrevocable
Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs), the Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) and
QTIP-marital-trust annual review touchpoints, and the life-event trigger
detection that should prompt a plan review.

It is designed for 1 to 4 attorney estate planning practices running Clio,
MyCase, PracticePanther, or Smokeball with drafting on WealthCounsel or
ElderCounsel. Solo practices and small estate-planning boutiques both work.

## What this skill does

1. Funded-trust ledger by asset class: real estate, brokerage, retirement, business interests, life insurance
2. Every-3-year client review cadence with life-event trigger overrides
3. ILIT annual Crummey notice cadence with beneficiary roster maintenance
4. CRT, QTIP, GRAT, IDGT, and SLAT annual review touchpoints by trust type
5. Life-event trigger detection: birth, death, marriage, divorce, new state of residence, federal estate tax exemption changes
6. Post-engagement asset retitling chase in the 90 days after the plan signs

## Triggers

```yaml
triggers:
  - type: heartbeat
    schedule: "0 8 * * 1"          # Mondays 8am
    action: three_year_review_pass

  - type: heartbeat
    schedule: "0 7 1 * *"          # 1st of month 7am
    action: ilit_crummey_notice_pass

  - type: heartbeat
    schedule: "0 9 * * 3"          # Wednesdays 9am
    action: funded_trust_gap_audit

  - type: heartbeat
    schedule: "0 8 1 1 *"          # Annually Jan 1
    action: federal_exemption_change_review

  - type: on_event
    event: pms.matter_signed_estate_plan
    action: enter_funded_trust_chase_90d

  - type: on_event
    event: pms.life_event_logged
    action: trigger_plan_review_outreach
```

## Workflow: funded trust ledger

For each revocable living trust the skill maintains a per-asset ledger. After the plan signs, the agent enters a 90-day funded-trust chase:

1. Day 7: cover letter and funding instructions confirmation
2. Day 21: real estate retitling check (deed prepared, recorded?)
3. Day 45: brokerage and bank account retitling check
4. Day 60: retirement account beneficiary form audit
5. Day 75: business interest assignment check (LLC operating agreement amendment, S-corp share transfer)
6. Day 90: life insurance beneficiary review

After the initial 90-day chase, the skill maintains the ledger for the life of the engagement. Any asset still in individual name is flagged in the annual audit. The audit is the practice's defense against the most common estate planning malpractice complaint: "you set up the trust but never funded it."

## Workflow: every-3-year client review

Every Monday at 8am the agent:

1. Pulls all active estate plan clients
2. For each, checks the date of last review
3. Flags clients overdue for the 3-year touchpoint
4. Cross-references against life-event triggers (births, deaths, marriages, divorces, state-of-residence changes) since last review
5. Drafts a personalized review-invitation message naming the trigger if relevant
6. Routes to the attorney for approval

The 3-year cadence is the practice's defense against drift. Plans drafted in 2017 with the wrong portability election or the wrong state of administration are real exposure if no one has touched them in 8 years.

## Workflow: ILIT Crummey notice cadence

For each Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust the skill maintains the beneficiary roster, the annual premium gift date, and the Crummey withdrawal right window (typically 30 days). When a premium gift is logged:

1. Agent drafts Crummey notice letters to each beneficiary
2. Each notice includes the gift amount, the withdrawal right, the 30-day window, the trustee contact
3. Routes to the attorney for review
4. Generates the signed-acknowledgment tracking page
5. Stamps the ledger when each acknowledgment comes back
6. Flags any beneficiary who has not acknowledged before the window closes

Crummey notices done sloppily are the way the IRS pierces the present-interest gift tax exclusion. The skill keeps the paperwork tight.

## Workflow: life-event trigger detection

The skill watches for trigger events:

- Birth: should the new child be added as a contingent beneficiary, named in a separate share, or excluded?
- Death of a named fiduciary or beneficiary: who steps up?
- Marriage of the client or a beneficiary: how does the marital deduction change?
- Divorce of the client: most states automatically revoke ex-spouse beneficiary designations on probate assets but not on retirement accounts or life insurance, so a sweep is needed
- New state of residence: principal place of administration, slayer statute applicability, community vs separate property
- Federal exemption changes: the exemption has been $13.99M per person in 2025 and is scheduled to sunset to roughly half that on January 1, 2026 (confirm current law at time of review)

Each detected trigger drafts the appropriate client-facing review invitation.

## Message templates

```yaml
templates:
  funded_trust_post_signing_90d_check:
    body: |
      Dear {client_first_name} and {client_spouse_first_name},

      We are at the {day_count}-day mark since you signed your estate plan.
      The most important step from here is making sure the trust is fully
      funded, meaning each of your major assets is owned the way the plan
      assumes. Right now, our records show the following items still need
      attention:

      {unfunded_assets_list}

      I have time set aside this week to walk through any of these. Just
      reply with what works.

      {attorney_first_name}

  three_year_review_invitation:
    body: |
      Dear {client_first_name} and {client_spouse_first_name},

      It has been about three years since we last sat down to review your
      estate plan. The federal exemption rules have changed since then, and
      I want to make sure your plan still reflects how you want things
      handled today.

      Would you have 30 to 45 minutes available in the next few weeks for
      a review? I will pull the plan, check the funding, and bring a short
      memo of any updates worth considering.

      {attorney_first_name}

  ilit_crummey_notice:
    subject: "Notice of Right of Withdrawal - {trust_name}"
    body: |
      Dear {beneficiary_first_name} {beneficiary_last_name},

      This letter serves as formal notice that the trustee of the
      {trust_name} has received a contribution of {gift_amount} on
      {gift_date}. As a beneficiary of the trust, you have the right to
      withdraw your proportionate share of this contribution, namely
      {beneficiary_share_amount}, by submitting a written request to the
      trustee within thirty (30) days of receipt of this notice.

      If no withdrawal request is received within the thirty-day window, the
      withdrawal right will lapse and the contribution will remain in the
      trust pursuant to its terms.

      Trustee contact: {trustee_name}, {trustee_email}, {trustee_phone}.

      Sincerely,
      {attorney_first_name}, on behalf of the trustee

  life_event_trigger_review:
    body: |
      Dear {client_first_name},

      I wanted to follow up regarding {life_event_summary}. A change like
      this is usually a good moment to check whether your estate plan still
      lines up with your wishes. Specific items worth a quick look:

      {life_event_specific_items}

      If you would like to schedule a short review, here are open slots:

      {open_slots}

      {attorney_first_name}
```

## Memory keys

```yaml
memory:
  - key: ep.funded_trust_ledger[{client_id}]
    description: Per-asset ownership audit for the revocable trust
    schema: { real_estate: array, brokerage: array, retirement: array, business: array, life_insurance: array }

  - key: ep.review_ledger[{client_id}]
    description: Last review date and next due
    schema: { last_review: date, next_due: date, life_events_since: array }

  - key: ep.ilit_ledger[{ilit_id}]
    description: ILIT beneficiary roster and Crummey notice tracking
    schema: { trust_name: string, beneficiaries: array, last_gift: object, crummey_notices: array }

  - key: ep.trust_type_ledger[{trust_id}]
    description: Trust type and annual review touchpoint
    values: [rlt, ilit, crt, qtip, grat, idgt, slat, special_needs]

  - key: ep.life_event_queue[{client_id}]
    description: Detected events awaiting review outreach
    schema: { event_type: string, event_date: date, outreach_state: string }
```

## Required integrations

| Integration            | Purpose                                          | Read | Write |
|------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|------|-------|
| Clio Manage            | Matters, contacts, tasks via REST                | yes  | optional |
| MyCase                 | Matters, contacts via API                        | yes  | optional |
| PracticePanther        | Matters, contacts via API                        | yes  | optional |
| Smokeball              | Matters, contacts via API                        | yes  | optional |
| WealthCounsel          | Drafted document metadata                        | yes  | no    |
| ElderCounsel           | Drafted document metadata                        | yes  | no    |
| Twilio (or similar)    | Outbound SMS                                     | no   | yes   |
| Email provider         | Outbound email                                   | no   | yes   |
| OpenClaw Memory        | Cross-run state                                  | yes  | yes   |
| OpenClaw Heartbeat     | Scheduled cadence                                | yes  | yes   |

Write-back to the PMS starts disabled. The attorney commits all changes manually for the first two weeks. After validation, write access can be flipped on for low-risk fields (review date stamps, task updates, communication log entries).

## Compliance notes

ABA Model Rule 1.6 confidentiality: all client communications route through the attorney for approval by default. Outbound copy never names specific instrument provisions, asset valuations, or tax-election detail. The agent operates within the BAA-equivalent environment configured for the practice.

ABA Model Rule 5.3 supervision: the skill is a non-lawyer assistant. The attorney remains responsible for the work product and the client communications. The skill is structured so the attorney can supervise every output before it reaches a client.

Jurisdiction: the skill is jurisdiction-aware via the config block. Configure for your primary state and any secondary states you handle. The annual exemption review accommodates federal estate tax law changes.

Confirm your data residency requirements before pointing OpenClaw at a cloud provider.

## Configuration

```yaml
config:
  practice_name: "Your Estate Planning Practice"
  attorneys:
    - last_name: "Halverson"
      bar_states: [CA, NV]
  approval_mode: attorney_approves_all   # or "autonomous_after_2_weeks_routine_only"
  jurisdiction_primary: CA
  jurisdiction_secondary: [NV, AZ]
  review_cadence:
    routine_years: 3
    accelerated_high_net_worth_years: 2
  funded_trust_chase_days: [7, 21, 45, 60, 75, 90]
  ilit_crummey_window_days: 30
  life_event_triggers:
    - birth
    - death
    - marriage
    - divorce
    - state_residence_change
    - federal_exemption_change
  drafting_platform: wealthcounsel        # or "eldercounsel"
  pms: clio                                # or "mycase", "practicepanther", "smokeball"
```

## Quick install

```bash
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
mv estate-planning-attorneys.md ~/.claude/skills/estate-planning-trust-funding.md
# Edit the config block to match your practice
```

Launch OpenClaw and the skill is live. Run `funded trust audit` or `run 3 year review pass` or `ilit crummey notice pass` on demand, or wait for Heartbeat.

## Want it wired to your stack?

This SKILL.md is the starting point. If you want it plugged into your specific PMS, your drafting platform, your state's requirements, and your client-communication voice, on a fixed-price two-week clock with the founder writing every line of the build, the door is at
https://www.adhirajhangal.com/work

Install in 60 seconds

1. 1

   Drop the file into your OpenClaw skills directory

   Save the downloaded estate-planning-attorneys.md as ~/.claude/skills/estate-planning-trust-funding.md (or your project-level .claude/skills/). OpenClaw picks up new skill files on next agent launch.

2. 2

   Connect your practice management and drafting platform

   Edit the integrations block to point at Clio or MyCase plus WealthCounsel or ElderCounsel. Read-only access is enough to start. The skill ships the prompts that translate the matter ledger, the funded-trust spreadsheet, and the annual review calendar into the agent's working memory.

3. 3

   Launch in approval mode, validate, then flip to autonomous

   Start with the attorney approving every client-facing communication. Defaults route anything that touches a specific instrument provision, a tax election, or an asset valuation to the attorney. After two weeks of validation, flip the routine 3-year-review outreach and Crummey notice templates to autonomous.

Example conversation

Common questions

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