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Turn a long letter, lease or form into what you have to do

⏱ 15 min4 steps

Leases, insurance letters, court papers and government forms bury the part that matters. Claude reads the whole thing and tells you what it wants from you and by when, so the first can go on your calendar today. Bring the paper itself. Long documents wear anyone down, and losing your place halfway is common. Claude can misread a date or invent a law that sounds real. Check everything against the paper. None of this is legal advice.

deadline The last day you can do something, like reply, pay or sign, before something else happens. All words
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Steps

Step 1 of 40 done · about 15 min left

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  1. Cover the private numbers

    Claude needs the words on the page, not your numbers. Never put a password into the chat.

    1. Lay each page flat on a clear table.
    2. Cover every account, policy or member number, your Social Security number and your date of birth with strips of paper or sticky notes.
    3. Take a photo of each page.
    4. Look at each photo up close, and zoom in with two fingers. A photo can catch more than the page, like another letter underneath.

    If the paper is an email, copy its words instead of taking photos. Delete every account, policy or member number, your Social Security number and your date of birth from what you paste, before you send it.

    That's not what I see
    The paper is a PDF, not a printout.
    Don't attach the PDF. Take a screenshot of only the part you need. Then open it in Photos, tap **Edit**, tap **Crop**, drag the corners in until no name, date of birth or number shows, and tap **Done**. Look at it up close. If a number sits in the middle of the words, type that part out instead.

  2. Ask Claude what the paper is

    This asks Claude what the paper is and what it wants from you, using only what's written there.

    1. Open the on your phone or laptop and start a new chat.
    2. Copy the prompt below.
    I'm going to give you a letter, lease, contract or form I got. I've covered the private numbers. Tell me in plain words what it is, who sent it, and what it wants me to do. Use only what's in the paper. If something isn't there, like who to contact, write NOT IN THE PAPER. Don't guess. Don't give me legal advice. Here it is: [attach the photos, or paste the words here]
    1. Paste it into the chat.
    2. Attach your photos. In the phone app, tap the button next to the message box for adding photos, then pick your photos. On a laptop, click the + button in the lower-left corner of the message box, then Add files or photos. Or replace the part in square brackets with the words, pasted in.
    3. Send it.
    prompt What you type to Claude. A good one says what you want, how to work and what never to do. All wordsClaude app Claude on your phone or computer, where you chat with it by typing. claude.ai is the same thing in a web browser. All words

    You should see:

    A few plain lines on what the paper is, who sent it and what it wants from you, with NOT IN THE PAPER where something's missing.

    That's not what I see
    The document is too long to paste.
    Attach it as photos of each page instead. Or paste it a few pages at a time and say "more coming" until you've pasted it all.

  3. List every date and put the deadlines on your calendar

    This prompt pulls every deadline and amount of money into one list, with the words each one came from, so you can find it on the paper.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    Now list every deadline and every amount of money in the paper, in date order. For each one, quote the words it comes from and say which page it's on. Say what happens if I miss a deadline only if the paper says. If it doesn't, write NOT IN THE PAPER.
    1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
    2. Find each date on the paper itself, and check it matches.
    3. Open the calendar on your phone, and add each deadline you checked, with the paper's name in the title.
    4. Add a reminder a few days before each one, and keep the paper somewhere you'll find it.

    You should see:

    A list in date order, each deadline or amount with the words it came from and its page, and NOT IN THE PAPER where the paper doesn't say what happens.

    That's not what I see
    Claude's date doesn't match the one on the paper.
    Go with the date on the paper, and ask the sender if you're not sure.

  4. Have Claude list what to ask

    This prompt lists the questions to ask before you sign or reply, and who to ask. For anything to do with a court, a lawsuit or an eviction, talk to a lawyer or a office before you file or sign anything. For other letters, ask the sender.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    List anything unusual in the paper, and the questions I should ask before I sign or reply. For each question, say who it's for: the sender, or a lawyer or legal aid office. Quote the line each question is about. Tell me which parts need a lawyer or legal aid instead of you. Use only what's in the paper.
    1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
    2. Write the questions down, with who each one is for.
    legal aid Free or low-cost legal help for people who can't afford a lawyer. All words

    You should see:

    A short list of questions, each with the line it's about and marked for the sender or for a lawyer or legal aid, and the parts that need a lawyer named.

    That's not what I see
    Claude names a law or a court case.
    Don't rely on it until you've checked it. Ask Claude where it comes from, then ask a lawyer, a legal aid office or the sender. can make up cases that sound real.AI Short for artificial intelligence. Here it means a program like Claude that reads what you write and writes back in plain words. All words
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Real stories

  • Lynn White of Long Beach, in court without a lawyer. An eviction was overturned. That avoided about $55,000 in penalties and $18,000 in rent. Used ChatGPT and Perplexity. NBC News, October 8, 2025

  • Staci Dennett of New Mexico, facing a summons over a debt. A settlement saved more than $2,000. Used ChatGPT. NBC News, October 8, 2025

  • Jackie Davalos and Walter Kerr, with a $22,604 ER bill. The bill was waived as a clerical error. Claude misread some of the law along the way. Used Claude. The New York Times (via The Star), April 8, 2026

Where it fell short

  • NBC News. The same report describes court filings with made-up case citations, and sanctions that followed. Used AI chatbots. NBC News, October 8, 2025

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Your challenge

Find one letter or form you've been putting off. Run it through the prompt and write the first deadline on your calendar.

Last checked 2026-10-20

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