I expected to learn a lot about document preparation on the trip and for our clients to be very nice and thankful that we were helping them, and of course, these clients met my expectations. I admired how gracefully they approached sensitive issues, such as naming someone to make decisions for them when they lose the capacity to do it for themselves and discussing their end-of-life wishes. They also were all wonderful clients with big personalities–some were sweet and kind and others were hilarious, and I felt very fortunate to be able to help them.
Read More... (It was a wonderful experience and I can’t wait to go on another Wills Trip.)
| Posted by Jordan N. Wolfe on Thu. March 8, 2012 11:13 AM
Categories: Spring Break 2012 (Western)
What an amazing privilege for me to be able to help people in Western North Carolina in this way! As a practicing financial planner, I often had the opportunity to explain to my clients why having a will and advance directives was important. I came to law school because simply explaining why these documents were so important was no longer good enough. I wanted to have a bigger impact. I wanted to be able to ensure my clients took the important next steps and actually followed my advice. I wanted to prepare wills and advance directives. To have the opportunity to do this before I had completed my education? Amazing.
Knowing what moves a person to action with respect to making end of life plans makes this experience all the more meaningful. All of our clients were so appreciative. I hope they all know how appreciative I am of everything—not only to have had the opportunity to provide such an important service to them, and to have them place their trust in me to put their intentions in writing, but also to learn from them. To learn about how to draft these documents of course, but also to allow me to learn about them, what matters to them, what motivates them, and to allow me into their family for just a short time, long enough to make an impact. I hope they realize that this experience means at least as much to me as it does (or it will) to them and their families.
Read More... (To have the opportunity to do this before I had completed my education? Amazing.)
| Posted by Deborah A. McDermott (Debbie) on Wed. March 7, 2012 5:04 PM
Categories: Spring Break 2012 (Western)
At Career Night in last fall, the very first attorney with whom I spoke worked on estate planning. I decided to speak with her on a whim, and frankly, to “warm-up” my networking and conversational skills. I had never even considered the possibility of working with wills and other estate planning devises, but this attorney was passionate about the work and clearly found it rewarding. After speaking with her, wills work sounded like an area in which the legal staples of researching and writing are nicely balanced with client interaction.
Read More... (It was empowering to be able to help so many people in such a direct way.)
| Posted by Ramona H. McGee on Wed. March 7, 2012 11:10 AM
Categories: Spring Break 2012 (Western)
I was very nervous about this trip. I was worried that I would make a mistake when someone was relying on me. I feared my minimal experience would render me useless. However since I have been here and worked with clients, I have learned that I know a lot and a little at the same time. With clients that wanted relatively simple Wills and Advanced Directives, I found I was able to explain how the documents worked and what they were for. It’s true that I have little experience in actually drafting Wills but I do have more experience than I realized. The clients were coming to me for information that they might not otherwise have had access to. It was validating that I was able to draft the documents but it was even more validating to know that I was able to help people.
Read More... (It was validating that I was able to draft the documents but it was even more validating to know that I was able to help people.)
| Posted by Teresa L. Cook on Wed. March 7, 2012 11:04 AM
Categories: Spring Break 2012 (Western)