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Would you like to help Dallas police officers with simple wills, and estate planning on 9/11?
The Dallas Bar Probate section is calling for volunteers to help Dallas Police Officers with Wills, Medical Powers of Attorney, Directive to Physicians, etc. All you need is a laptop and four hour’s time.
Here is the post that went out to the Probate Section:
“For the past two years, Bank of America has coordinated an estate planning activity on 9/11 for first responders in different parts of the country. Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP, a national law firm with 13 offices and 650 lawyers has joined in on the coordination.
This year, the project has been expanded to other locations, including Dallas. As a member of the DBA Probate, Trusts & Estates Section, you are invited to volunteer a four-hour block of time (12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) on Wednesday, September 11, 2024 at Dallas Police Department Headquarters at 1400 Botham Jean Blvd., Dallas 75215 in preparing simple wills and five advance planning documents for active members of the Dallas Police Department — Medical Power of Attorney, Directive to Physicians, HIPAA authorization, Durable Power of Attorney, and Declaration of Guardian. (The project may be expanded to other first responders next year if all goes well.) Note that interested police will be advised that it will not be possible to assist people with large or complicated estates, those with special needs children, those disinheriting certain close relatives (e.g., spouse, biological or adopted child, etc.), or those who want to set up sophisticated trusts.
“Police officers who respond to an emailed DPD flyer that they would like estate planning assistance will complete a questionnaire in advance of September 11 to facilitate document completion. All of the documents will be fillable in Word. A volunteer lawyer will be asked to review the questionnaire with a police officer and complete the documents through signature by the end of two hours. (It is anticipated that each lawyer will devote two hours to each of two police officers.) BofA and Bradley will supply lawyers, witnesses, notaries, and printers so that at the conclusion of a session, an officer can leave with completed documents.
“If you volunteer, the only things you will be asked to bring with you will be your talented brains and laptops. You will not leave with any documents. It will be made clear to the police officers that a volunteer’s services will conclude and their cases will be closed when they leave the event. You will leave with what you came in the door with and knowledge that you have helped someone who is at risk of being in harm’s way on a daily basis in his/her job.
“Now, estate planners are used to spending time with clients before drafting and finalizing wills and related documents. Thus, a two-hour period seems very short to go from start to finish. The process has worked, however, in other parts of the country, so it should be possible to do it here.
If you would like to be a volunteer at the four-hour 9/11 event, please let me know via email at pjmiller@airmail.net as soon as you can and, in any event, by August 15, 2024. So that you will know what will be involved, I will then email you a copy of the DPD flyer that is to be sent to police officers, the advance questionnaire, the fillable documents, and instructions to be given to officers when they leave the event.
Thanks so much for reading this and being willing to help in this commemorative activity!
Best,
Paula Miller