COMDTINST 5801.4E
7. LEGAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES PROVIDED. Subject to the limitations below, Command
Directors of Legal Assistance may offer legal assistance services involving consultation, advice and
assistance to eligible clients on personal civil legal matters. When the quality of advice given would
be impaired by office work load or the legal assistance attorney's lack of expertise in the relevant
area of the law, the legal assistance attorney shall refer the client to another armed forces legal
assistance office, lawyer referral service or civilian attorney in accordance with this Instruction.
Legal assistance may be provided primarily as follows:
a. Wills and Estate Planning. Basic estate planning services, including drafting of wills and basic
testamentary trusts and giving SGLI advice, may be provided. More advanced estate planning,
such as arranging a client's affairs to minimize taxation of his or her estate, will normally be
offered only by legal assistance attorneys who possess the special competency to do so, subject
to the conditions in paragraph 8 (d) below.
b. Military Testamentary Instruments (MTI). Federal law provides for the recognition of
testamentary instruments by any state or jurisdiction without regard to specific legal
requirements as to form, formality or recording imposed by that state or jurisdiction when the
instrument is prepared pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 1044d and executed by a person authorized to
receive legal assistance.
(1) A military testamentary instrument shall:
(a) Be executed by the testator/testatrix (or, if the testator/testatrix is unable to execute the
instrument personally, executed in the presence of, by the direction of, and on behalf of
the testator/testatrix).
(b) Be executed in the presence of a legal assistance attorney acting as presiding attorney.
(c) Be executed in the presence of at least two disinterested witnesses (in addition to the
presiding attorney), each of whom attests to witnessing the testator/testatrix execution of
the instrument by signing it.
(d) Include a statement or preamble in form and content, substantially as outlined in the DL
software program. The DL Software Package is explained in more depth in paragraph 17
to this Instruction.
(e) Include, or have attached to it, a self-proving affidavit in a form and content substantially
as outlined in the DL Software Package.
(f) Nothing in this Instruction requires the use of the Military Testamentary Instruments.
Legal assistance attorneys may use the MTI authority or comply with state formalities as
appropriate within their professional discretion.
c. Advanced Medical Directives (AMD) or "Living Wills." Legal assistance attorneys may
prepare AMDs when requested by a client. AMDs may be prepared using existing state law
provisions or as a Military Advance Medical Directive.
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