More than 50 first responders participated in Harford County’s first “Wills for Heroes” Program. The program culminated with an event on October 8 at the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company, which served more than 40 participants that day.
Sponsored by the Harford County Bar Foundation and Maryland State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section, Wills for Heroes provides free wills, health care advanced directives and financial powers of attorney to first responders and their spouses or significant others.
Wills for Heroes is a national program that was held in October as part of Harford County Pro Bono Month.
The first responders filled out a completed estate-planning questionnaire. Volunteer lawyers met with the first responders for about an hour each and provided these effective legal documents for them to take home.
The participating first responders came from the Aberdeen Police Department, Baltimore City Fire Department, Baltimore County Police Department, Bel Air Police Department, Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company, Fallston Volunteer Fire Company, Harford County Emergency Management, Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Montgomery County Police Department, Susquehanna Hose Company and University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center Security Department.
“The objectives of lawyers and first responders are the same – we both help people in our communities,” said Elizabeth H. Thompson, Esq., associate at Stark and Keenan, P.A., and coordinator of Wills for Heroes in Harford County. “Volunteer attorneys were able to help our first responders by providing them with critical legal protections in the event of a serious injury, illness or tragedy to ensure that their wishes are respected. Giving back to our communities is what Harford County Pro Bono Month is all about.”
The Harford County Bar Foundation was established in 1991 to increase pro bono services and to provide educational resources to low-income individuals in need of legal assistance in family law, housing, bankruptcy, consumer, foreclosure, and estates and trust.
For more information, visit www.harfordcountybarfoundation.org.
