Wills for Heroes Sets New Record

Article Date: Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Written By: Russell Rawlings

Attorney Betsy Tucker, background, assists young family during Jan. 31 Wills for Heroes event in Winston-Salem.

The Young Lawyers Division of the North Carolina Bar Association hosted another successful Wills for Heroes program Saturday at Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem.

 

In fact, it was one for the books.

 

“We have received some great feedback from the Police Department as well as volunteers,” said YLD Patti Ramseur of Greensboro.

 

“We assisted approximately 420 police officers, firefighters and their spouses, which makes this the larges North Carolina event to date and the largest such event in the nation!

 

“We just keep breaking record after record. Congratulations to Clark Walton and Susan Upton Finch for all of their hard work as co-chairs of the YLD Wills for Heroes Committee.”

 

Wills for Heroes provides free essential estate planning documents including wills and powers of attorney to first responders including policemen, firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs).

 

Volunteer lawyers, paralegals, notaries and law students are essential to the success of the program. In Winston-Salem, as in other N.C. cities where the YLD has conducted these events over the past two years, the volunteer turnout was exceptional if not, in fact, overwhelming.

 

The Wills for Heroes Foundation was established by attorneys Anthony Hayes of South Carolina and Jeff Jacobson of Arizona after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Foundation works to assist first responders across the country in a number of ways, including providing free estate planning documents and other financial assistance programs.

 

The NCBA Young Lawyers Division adopted Wills for Heroes as a public service project in 2007 and has previously held programs in Charlotte (2), Salisbury, Greensboro and Cary. Volunteer attorneys have prepared thousands of estate planning documents for first responders at no charge.

The next Wills for Heroes program will take place March 14 in Charlotte; stay tuned for additional information regarding this extraordinary NCBA YLD project.

Scores of volunteers participated in the Winston-Salem Wills for Heroes event on Jan. 31. They are pictured here during the orientation program.