Season of Service

As we move from spring to summer, it’s a natural time for renewal and fresh starts—making it a perfect moment to reflect on your pro bono work. Are you currently involved in a pro bono program that inspires you? If not, this season offers a great opportunity to explore the many meaningful ways you can serve in the Denver metro area. Just as the seasons change, your pro bono interests may evolve over time. Let this season of growth be a time to reconnect with the causes that matter most to you.

Is your current passion using your specialized knowledge and skills to assist a domestic violence survivor in obtaining safety and stability through divorce? Are you passionate about helping individuals who need assistance caring for themselves by providing pro bono services for a guardianship or conservatorship case? Or perhaps you have personally experienced the death of a loved one and know that the process of settling someone’s final affairs through probate can be a daunting process without legal help.

For me, it’s bringing peace of mind to low-income seniors by providing the dignity and respect that accompanies preparing an estate plan for someone. Through MVL’s Estate Planning Program, volunteer attorneys assist seniors in giving the gift of certainty to family members and friends left behind when they pass.

MVL Estate Planning Program is offered at low-income senior residential facilities in the Denver metro area. It allows seniors to complete wills, living wills, medical powers of attorney, financial powers of attorney, and burial instructions. Many seniors living in low-income housing have seen the physical reminders of neighbors and friends tossed out on the street after their passing. Or they have concerns about who will help them manage their financial affairs when they can no longer do so. Or perhaps they know that they do not want life support and do not want to burden family members and friends with making that difficult decision.

During a morning or afternoon workshop, volunteers meet with seniors to discuss their estate planning needs, develop a customized estate plan, and execute the documents. At the end of the meeting, the client walks about with a fully executed estate plan in hand.

Through a partnership with InterActive Legal, MVL is fortunate to have access to drafting software. MVL provides laptops for use during the workshop, and the software facilitates the drafting of estate planning documents through a series of straightforward steps. Once drafted, the forms can be customized as needed. Training and step-by-step instructions regarding the software are provided before the workshop, and the MVL Estate Planning Program Attorney is on-site and available if any additional assistance is needed.

Upon completion, I often see a sense of relief pass through a client’s eyes. I get to spend time with someone one-on-one and, when I am lucky, get to hear a little bit of their life story. By volunteering for as little as 3 hours at an MVL Estate Planning Workshop, you can offer seniors the same peace of mind and walk away knowing that you provided someone with the dignity and respect that comes with memorializing their last wishes.

If you are interested in learning more or volunteering for MVL’s Estate Planning Program or any one of MVL’s various programs, contact Liz Jones at ejones@denbar.org.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anne Zogg is an associate at Hawkins Gordon, where she focuses her passion for helping others by assisting families and individuals with trust and estate planning, administration, and probate. Anne began her professional career as an auditor and registered as a certified public accountant (Illinois). After obtaining her law degree, Anne used her accounting background to practice in the area of business fraud litigation. Her passion for helping others later led her to work at Metro Volunteer Lawyers, where Anne was a Rovira Scholar, Post Decree Program Coordinator, Power of Attorney Program Coordinator, and Metro Volunteer Lawyer’s Managing Attorney. Anne is passionate about serving others, providing pro bono services, and promoting access to justice. Anne currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Denver Access to Justice Committee and is an Advisory Board member for Metro Volunteer Lawyers.