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Bar News - February 18, 2011 Attorneys Scramble to Assist Marine Reservists Heading to Afghanistan By: Dan Wise
The attorneys brought their own computers, forms and printers to the training facility of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion of the 25th Marines, a US Marines Corps Reserve unit based in Londonderry. The legal clinic, quickly put together by the NH Bar Association Pro Bono Referral Program, enabled the service members to expeditiously prepare wills and powers-of- attorney to arrange their affairs before they begin combat duty. The volunteer recruitment of the attorneys took place over a few short weeks when it was determined that the military’s lawyers would not be able to provide sufficient personnel to individually assist the Marines. "Without the help of all the members of the NHBA that volunteered it would have been a struggle to complete legal assistance prior to the company deploying," said Staff Sgt. Jorge Polanco, the Marines’ unit liaison, and administrative chief of Bravo Company. Many of the younger Marines had no such documents prepared and hadn’t even thought about these issues. The advice, provided in one-on-one counseling, also included asking the Marines to decide whom they should entrust with their powers of attorney. The clinic began with an orientation session about the importance of estate-planning documents conducted by Bedford probate attorney Ruth Ansell. On Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday, Marine reservists met individually with volunteer attorneys to draw up the necessary documents. The Bar’s Pro Bono Program is a veteran of military estate-planning clinics. Several similar events were hastily organized in advance of military deployments to Afghanistan in 2002, said Ginny Martin, who directs legal services programs including Pro Bono. "We were asked to help and we gladly stepped up to the challenge. It’s the least we can do for the members of our armed services that sacrifice so much," said Pro Bono Referral Program Assistant Coordinator Chantell Wheeler, who led the team effort. "Estate planning can be a difficult process at any stage in life, but it’s particularly difficult with the men and women facing deployment. They are just starting out in their lives and estate planning is usually the last thing they think about."
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