At VFW, Helping Veterans Write Their Wills

The kitchen of VFW Post 2096 looks nothing like a law office, but on Saturday it served that purpose. Attorneys Ryan Suerth, Sharon Pope, and Andrew Stillman met throughout the day with an estimated 20 veterans and their spouses, helping them to write their wills. The service, organized by Suerth, was free.

"A while ago Ray Hanley, the commander of this VFW post,

approached me and asked if I could help a member, a veteran, write his will. I agreed. I'm a veteran. I was stationed at Ft. Hood for three years and then deployed to Iraq. I saw a need and thought I could help meet it," Suerth, a Madison resident, explained.

Saturday afternoon he was sitting behind one of two laptop computers set up on a stainless steel table in the VFW's kitchen. Behind him is a printer and a pile of office supplies and to his right is a large commercial sink. To his left is Pope, a Hartford-based

elder and disability law attorney, who is typing up a document. In a small room on the second floor, Stillman, an attorney accredited by the Veterans Administration, is talking with a veteran.

Suerth called every veteran in the VFW post, offering to help them with a free will. Most

already had wills, he was pleased to learn, but others did not. He contacted the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (CVLC) in West Haven and spoke with

Director Margaret Middleton. She, too, saw a need. From there the Connecticut Bar Association was contacted.

Pope, vice chair of the CBA

Elder Law Committee, volunteered and Suerth called Stillman, an attorney who specializes in trusts, estates, and veterans with the New Haven firm

of Zangari Cohn Cuthbertson.

"I'm a litigator, not an estate planner, so I am grateful to Pope and Stillman for the expertise they bring," Suerth said.

Saturday morning Suerth, Pope, and Middleton set up shop at the VFW on Lovers Lane. With appointments laid out through the morning, they were ready to go. Then the power went out. Suerth put in a quick call to

Eileen Banisch, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, and she offered the chamber's

offices as a temporary site.

"We unplugged everything, packed it up, and off we went," Suerth said.

They returned about noon when power was restored to the VFW hall. Stillman joined them there.

Among the veterans they met that morning was a resident who brought in his father, a World War II veteran; another World War II veteran who came in with his wife; and then a young, married veteran with his wife and

11 year-old daughter. They still had an afternoon of appointments ahead of them.

The attorneys spoke with the veterans privately in interview rooms.

"We listen, find out their wishes, and help them with the documents they need," Pope

explained.

That could be a will, a durable power of attorney, a living will, or all of them.

"For instance, one of the

spouses this morning was anxious to have a living will prepared and we were able to do that for her," Pope said.

After the interview, the

attorneys put the information into the forms and files on the computer, print out the documents,

review them with the veterans, and then have them signed and witnessed. The veterans take the original documents with them.

"We see a need for this. When Ryan approached me, I was pleased to help coordinate it. This is a pilot, a test. If we can replicate this, CVLC hopes to bring it to other parts of the state,"

Middleton said.

"This was a simple idea that grew out of one request from Ray Handley. We started small so we could work out the kinks and after this morning I think we've shown this can be set up just about anywhere. Most important, I think we've demonstrated the need and how to meet it," Suerth said.