theWillSforheroeSproGram
Solo & Small Firm Section Co-Chairs: DawnMyers – MyersLaw, P. A. & CortneyHarrington – JamesA. Schmidt, P. A
Over the past fifteen years, a group of attorneys and paralegals, led by Katie Everlove-Stone of Everlove Legal, PLLC, has been providing the Wills for Heroes program to Hillsborough County. The Wills for Heroes program provides wills, powers of attorney, and health care advance directives to first responders and their spouses / partners free of charge. These events are held quarterly at the Hillsborough County Bar Association. Over the years, Wills for Heroes has provided nearly 2,000 first responders with basic estate planning documents.
Wills for Heroes is a foundation that began after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Following the attacks, South Carolina attorney Anthony Hayes contacted his local fire department to see what attorneys could do to assist their first responders. As the conversation developed, it became clear that many first responders do not have estate planning documents in place. A group of volunteer attorneys began the pro bono program to make sure that first responders, who are at risk every day, have these essential
documents. The program caught on and has spread across the country as more local bar associations and volunteer groups set up local programs based on the national model.
The Wills for Heroes program has been embraced with great enthusiasm by our local first responders, especially in the Tampa Police Department. We also have participation from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’ s Office, Tampa Fire Rescue, as well as other agencies in the area.
The Hillsborough County Wills for Heroes program has one more event planned for 2025. We are pleased to be joined by the Solo and Small Firm section of the Hillsborough County Bar Association, but we are also looking for additional volunteers to assist with the preparation of documents. The date is Saturday, October 18th from 9:00 a. m. to 1:00 p. m. The event will be held at the Hillsborough County Bar Association building. No experience in estate planning is needed, as we
Willsforheroes programprovideswills, powersofattorney, andhealthcare advancedirectives tofirstresponders andtheir spouses / partners forfree.
will have training sessions immediately before the event starts, for which volunteers will receive CLE credit. We use document assembly software which makes the process very simple, and all work is supervised by attorneys experienced in estate planning. As a whole, our volunteers find these events very enjoyable, and the first responders are always very appreciative of our efforts. If you would like to volunteer for the October event or future events, please contact Katie Everlove-Stone at Katie @ everlovelegal. com, and we will add your name to our list of volunteers to contact when we have an event approaching. n
Author: Katie Everlove- Stone – Everlove Legal PLLC
Join the Solo & Small Firm in their upcoming Wills for Heroes volunteer event on Saturday, October 18.( Registration information is at the end of the article.)
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