Text in a document is conditional if it is included only when certain conditions are met. To mark conditional text, enclose the text in square brackets. Immediately following the opening bracket, type the word if followed by a colon. After the colon, type a condition name followed by another colon. For example:
[if:ClientIsMarried:I give to my spouse all interest in property, both real and personal, including buildings, fixtures and improvements to such property.]
A condition name is an affirmative statement specifying the conditions under which the conditional text is included in the document. All of the rules that apply to variable field names apply to condition names.
When conditional text consists of a complete paragraph, it is usually desirable to include the paragraph mark as part of the conditional text. To do this, type the closing bracket after the paragraph mark, such that it appears at the beginning of the following paragraph. For example:
My name is [ClientName;te].
[if:ClientIsMarried:I am married to [SpouseName;te].
][if:ClientHasChildren:My children are [ChildrenNamesAndBirthdates;te].
]Except as specifically noted in this document …
Conditional text fields may be “nested” within other conditional text fields. For example:
[if:ClientIsMarried:I give to my spouse all interest in property, both real and personal, including buildings
[if:GiftsIncludeFixtures:, fixtures,] and improvements to the property.]
Conditional text fields may include one or more alternatives, only one of which will be included in the final document. To specify alternatives, introduce each alternative with a forward slash (/) character followed by elseif or else. Use elseif if the alternative is conditional. Use else if the alternative is conditionless, meaning that it is included in the final document when no other alternative is included.
Here is an example showing several conditional alternatives followed by a conditionless alternative:
I, [ClientName;te;format=upper], direct my personal representative to see that my body is [if:ClientToBeBuried:buried in the [ClientBurialCemetery;te]/elseif:ClientToBeCremated: cremated and my ashes scattered whithersoever my personal representative shall direct/elseif:ClientBodyToMedicine:donated to [ClientBodyInstitution;te]/else:disposed of as my personal representative shall direct].
A conditionless alternative (else) is not required, but if present, it must follow all conditional alternatives.
When a HotDocs Model includes large sections of conditional text or nested conditional text, it can be difficult to find the beginning and ending of conditional text fields. If you have installed the HotDocs Markup Tools, use the Select Field button to easily see where the conditional text field begins and ends. (Click once to select or highlight the immediate condition, and click twice to view the entire condition.)
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