Wills For Heroes Holds Successful Burlington Event

Summary Date: Saturday, May 21, 2011

Written By: Russell Rawlings

Jillian Brevorka assists a couple.

Jodi Hildebran assists a Burlington police officer.

Student Andrew Phillips, left, and attorney Jeff Hutchins go over estate planning documents.

Brenda Maloney Shafer participates in her first N.C. Wills for Heroes event.

Wills for Heroes, a pro bono project of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division that provides free estate planning documents for police officers, sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and other first responders, visited Burlington for the first time on Saturday, May 21.

Once again, the event proved an enormous success. Eighty first responders and spouses from Alamance County and the surrounding area were assisted by 31 volunteer attorneys, law students, paralegals and notaries public. Approximately 230 documents were prepared at this the sixth and final Wills for Heroes program for 2010-11.  

“Thank you for a great bar year for Wills for Heroes!” proclaimed Jake Epstein, who co-chaired the YLD Wills for Heroes Committee with Jillian Brevorka this year, in appreciation to volunteers and staff members.

 

The NCBA YLD adopted the Wills for Heroes project in 2007, and in four short years has turned it into statewide endeavor that has provided priceless service to first responders in North Carolina and, so importantly, their spouses.

 

Overall, 19 events have been held and 1,075 volunteers have participated, serving 2,982 first responders and their spouses. A total of 8,714 documents have been drafted.

 

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.

 

Brenda Maloney Shafer, an Arizona attorney now living in North Carolina, participated in her first N.C. event Saturday. But she was familiar with the program, having helped out several times before in Arizona.

 

The Burlington event also marked the first Wills for Heroes project for Andrew Phillips, a student at the Charlotte School of Law, who partnered with Kernersville attorney Jeff Hutchins.

 

“This has been very educational,” Phillips said. “I am interested in doing wills and trusts, so this gave me a chance to get some hands-on experience and see what goes into preparing these documents.”

 

“It was my first one too,” said Hutchins. “I am newly minted at the bar and wanted to get involved with the YLD, and this made it easy to do it right away.

 

“I really enjoyed it for how much we could offer in service. Wills and powers of attorney are so important to first responders. It was great being able to volunteer and do something right away and do a lot of good.

 

“Six out of the eight people we helped said that it was something that they had been meaning to do, and that our program gave them the perfect platform to get it done.”

 

Hutchins also gave high marks to his understudy.

 

“It is amazing what law students can do,” Hutchins concluded. “Andrew was up to snuff; it was nice to see him get in there and get some experience. He is actively involved with estate planning – that is what he wants to do. He knew his stuff, so there was very little I needed to guide him on. I just needed to be there.”

 

Perhaps “being there” sums it up best, because that is exactly what the Young Lawyers Division and Wills for Heroes volunteers of all ages have done the past four years. They’ve been there for the first responders of North Carolina, generating immeasurable appreciation for the NCBA and the legal profession along the way.

 

Well done, YLD! Well done, Wills for Heroes Committee! Well done, NCBA!

Notary Tracy Johnson, right, and attorneys Keayba Worthington and Josh Starin complete documents for first responder and spouse.

 

Do you know of an attorney or law firm that has been active in the community or has made significant charitable contributions? The outreach section of the NCBA website is designed to highlight these efforts. Contact Amber Smith, Assistant Director of Communications for Community Outreach and Social Media for the NCBA, at asmith@ncbar.org.