It’s one of those topics most of us prefer not to think about, especially if you’re in the middle or even the beginning of your career.
A will can always wait until tomorrow.
But what if your life suddenly ends, or you become incapable of making decisions about your finances and your health, much less how your estate will be distributed?
For Mark and Susan Pinkasavage of Temple, the guesswork over such decisions was eliminated thanks to an event Saturday by the Berks County Bar Association.
About 20 lawyers volunteered their time for the Wills for Heroes program, which helps veterans, police officers, volunteer firefighters and other first responders with preparing estate planning documents.
Mark Pinkasavage, 60, who served active duty in the Air Force for part of the 1980s, registered for the program along with his wife, since spouses also qualified for the free legal services.
“We have three daughters and wanted to make sure that, when that time came, that there was something set up for them,” Mark said after signing the paperwork in the high school library.
He was effusive in his praise of the process.
“It went so well,” he said. “I was very, very pleased.”
Wills for Heroes has its origins in a national program that began in the aftermath of 9/11, when hundreds of firefighters and other first responders died in the line of duty.
The national program, which was run through a foundation, no longer exists, but the Pennsylvania Bar Association has continued Wills for Heroes, supporting programs by local bars.
Saturday was the third year in a row the Berks County Bar Association has run the program, said Kourtney Bernecker, a lawyer and co-coordinator of the event.
The lawyers help prepare a simple will and two other documents and two other critical documents: a financial power of attorney and a healthcare power of attorney.
“It’s a way of giving back to that community that tends to put their lives on the line,” Bernecker said.
Nationally, 136 law enforcement officers suffered line-on-duty deaths in 2023, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
A total of 186 firefighters lost their lives in the line of duty from 2022 to 2023, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
“They take risks in their day-to-day lives that most of us could not imagine,” said Joan London, a lawyer who works as a solicitor for several municipal bodies.
She and another municipal attorney, Michelle Mayfield, were paired up. Much of their work involves law enforcement personnel matters, so it was a natural fit for them.
Having one’s affairs in order gives survivors confidence during a difficult time in decisions they’ll need to make in the event of death or incapacitation, Bernecker said.
“I know when I’ve talked with heroes, trying to convince them to come in, I remind them all three documents serve a purpose,” Bernecker said. “The power of attorney and the living will (healthcare POA) allow their loved one to be able to make medical decisions, but also to deal with just paying your mortgage and all that stuff in case you’re in the hospital for a long time.”
A simple will provides a road map for survivors in deciding what to do with the assets of a departed loved one by clarifying who gets what. It lessens conflict.
“It’s the last gift we can give to someone–to make that experience less stressful,” Bernecker said.
By year’s end, said David Keller Trevaskis, director of pro bono services for the Pennsylvania Bar Association, about 25,000 estate packages will have been done for free.
Although it was initially intended for first responders, he said, it makes sense to include veterans since many first responders are also veterans.
The lawyers who donate their time and expertise practice all types of law, not necessarily estates and trust law, although law school would have taught them the basics, Bernecker said.
“We have several attorneys who have been practicing in estate and trust for 30, 40 years and are available to answer detailed questions,” she added.
The lawyers and volunteers, including college students, find the program rewarding
“They learn a lot about the experience of the hero, the veteran or the firefighter: what, what motivated them to join the military, what motivated them to be a local firefighter or EMT. They find this makes it really rewarding.
“I think it’s a great way to build some community within our community.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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