News today from my State Bar of Arizona colleague Alberto Rodriguez, regarding the Bar’s first call-in program of 2014.
The January 7 Lawyers on Call public service event was hosted by azcentral.com and 12 News. The focus was estate planning—wills and trusts. Here’s a recap.
Ten attorneys volunteered their time and experience to answer consumer questions:
- Steve Evans
- Michael Friedman
- Lindsey Jackson
- T. James Lee
- Dianne McNamara
- Norm Miller
- Mark Moritz
- Nicole Pavlik
- Ronald Wilson
Six of the ten attorneys were first-time volunteers.
All together, they answered 204 calls on estate planning, wills and trusts. An additional 33 consumers were assisted via social media, which gave us a total of 237 people who were helped.
Here is a sample of consumer questions:
- What is the difference between a will and a trust? Which do I need?
- Can I write my own will or do I need an attorney? How much does an average estate plan cost?
- What should be included in a will or trust?
- Can I make changes to my already existing will? If so, how do I go about it and how often?
- How can I prepare to avoid probate?
- I am not originally from Arizona, do I need to make changes to my will?
The azcentral.com and 12 News teams were successful in adding a social media component to the phone bank. Thirty-three consumers asked their questions via the 12 News Facebook page, and attorney Nicole Pavlik responded with her recommendations/advice.
Next month, volunteer lawyers will answer consumers’ tax law questions on Tuesday, February 4.
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