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Our next Clinic is currently scheduled for April 25, 2026. Sign-ups for Participants will be open in the Spring. Please join our mailing list to be notified when the sign up is available or future clinics are scheduled. Interested Volunteers can sign up now.
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We serve many Participants at each Clinic, with a limited number of volunteers. To make this work, we ask that you prepare carefully and provide us with complete information in advance. This allows us to assemble draft documents for your meeting so that the time you spend with the attorney is used productively to ensure the documents achieve your planning goals.
Am I eligible?
There are two basic eligibility requirements.
There are two basic eligibility requirements.
- Participant is a firefighter, police officer, or EMT in a position located within Washington state. Other first responders may contact us to inquire about eligibility. The spouse or state-registered domestic partner of a first responder is also eligible, when the first responder is a participant. The participant and the spouse or state-registered domestic partner, if applicable, must be residents of Washington state. Please note, first responder support roles are not eligible for this Clinic.
- The estate meets our scope of services requirements (which limits the size and complexity of the estates we plan).
If you meet the eligibility requirements, we invite you to sign up for our next Clinic. We will send emails to those who subscribe to the Upcoming Clinics list (above) when sign-ups are open.
Please take the time to think through the questions below and gather necessary information before your start filling out the questionnaire.
1. Gather Information for the Questionnaire.
The information you will need to fill out the questionnaire includes:
2. Consider your questions and decisions.
Think about the questions you have after considering the roles above. If you are married or in a state-registered domestic partnership, talk with your spouse or domestic partner about your planning decisions. Think about what happens after you pass away, or if applicable after you both pass away. For example, consider whether you want your children (if any) to receive their bequests outright or in trust. Think about other things you may wish to do, such as make specific gifts to other people or charities. Write down any questions you have for the attorney leading your planning meeting.
3. Make Decisions About Planning Goals and Choosing Fiduciaries.
You (and your spouse or state-registered domestic partner, if applicable) each need to choose who will serve on your behalf for each of the roles noted above. Many of the roles are fiduciary roles, which means that the people have legal duties to act in the best interests of another person - you, your spouse or state-registered domestic partner, or your children, as appropriate.
4. Health Care Directive.
You will be asked to consider decisions related to a Health Care Directive (i.e., living will). Further information on those decisions is included in the questionnaire you will complete.
5. Fill out the Questionnaire.
Please join our mailing list to be notified when sign-ups will be open for our April 25, 2026 clinic. The questionnaire will be accessible at that time.
Please carefully complete the questionnaire with the information you have gathered. If you need to pause, you can choose the "Finish Later" option. Otherwise, when you have completed it, you can submit the form. Once you have submitted the form, you cannot make changes. However, if your decisions change, you can make changes during the Clinic with the attorney you are working with.
6. Set an Appointment.
Once you submit the questionnaire, you will receive an email with a link to schedule your appointment.
7. Attend Clinic and Sign Documents to Take with You.
On the Clinic date, you will meet with an attorney and another volunteer to review and complete the documents. The attorney will talk through the documents and make sure they accurately reflect your goals and decisions. You will then have your documents signed, witnessed, and notarized, as needed, which makes them legally valid. You will leave the Clinic with the full set of your original estate planning documents, which you will store securely for use as and when needed.
Please take the time to think through the questions below and gather necessary information before your start filling out the questionnaire.
1. Gather Information for the Questionnaire.
The information you will need to fill out the questionnaire includes:
- Your full legal name and contact information.
- Your spouse or state-registered domestic partner's full legal name and contact information.
- Full legal names and dates of birth of your children.
- A list of your assets, their types (by category, as shown below), and their estimated values. You will input information for each asset in the questionnaire. We do not need account numbers, name of bank, or similar information.
- Bank Accounts, CDs, money market accounts, etc.
- Stocks & Bonds
- Real Estate (equity only)
- Vehicles, RVs, Boats, etc. (equity only)
- Retirement accounts (IRA, 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), etc.)
- Term life insurance and employer-provided life insurance based on salary
- Whole Life Insurance & Annuities (cash surrender value only; do not include term life insurance)
- Lump sum payable at death, such as a pension (do not include continuing income payments)
- Money owed to you by someone else
- Business interests (owning an LLC or interest in a company)
- Other assets (i.e., Bitcoin, mineral rights, copyrights, etc.)
- Full legal names of all the people who will be involved in your planning. Please consider the following people and entities as you prepare your list. Consider naming one primary and one or more successors for each role, in case the person you named first is unable to serve.
- Personal Representative. This is the person who will manage your assets after you die and make sure everything ends up where it should go. They have to deal with the Court.
- Agents. These are people who would make healthcare or property decisions for you, when needed.
- Beneficiaries. Everyone who will be getting any gift under your Will should be listed. Also include names of people who you wish to expressly exclude.
- Charities. If you are making any gifts to charities, please identify their legal name and tax ID number. Charity Navigator is a reliable source of that information. If you are unable to find that information, please find the website and as much information about the organization as possible.
- If you have children, we need to have full legal names of your primary and successor choices for people to serve in these roles as well:
- Guardians and conservators for your children (if they are minors). Also include names of people who you expressly want to exclude as guardians and conservators.
- Trustees who would take care of the assets on behalf of your children until they are at the age when you would want them to have outright control of the assets. If you wish to give bequests to adult children outright, you will not need trustees.
2. Consider your questions and decisions.
Think about the questions you have after considering the roles above. If you are married or in a state-registered domestic partnership, talk with your spouse or domestic partner about your planning decisions. Think about what happens after you pass away, or if applicable after you both pass away. For example, consider whether you want your children (if any) to receive their bequests outright or in trust. Think about other things you may wish to do, such as make specific gifts to other people or charities. Write down any questions you have for the attorney leading your planning meeting.
3. Make Decisions About Planning Goals and Choosing Fiduciaries.
You (and your spouse or state-registered domestic partner, if applicable) each need to choose who will serve on your behalf for each of the roles noted above. Many of the roles are fiduciary roles, which means that the people have legal duties to act in the best interests of another person - you, your spouse or state-registered domestic partner, or your children, as appropriate.
- Make a list of who you want to have serve in the relevant roles.
- The roles to consider are personal representative (also known as executor), Agent for healthcare decisions, Agent for property management, trustee of trusts you may want for children (minor or adult) if applicable, and guardians and conservators for minor children, if applicable.
- Remember that if you are married or in a state-registered domestic partnership, for purposes of this Clinic your first-named personal representative and property Agent MUST be your spouse or registered domestic partner.
- Ensure you have picked at least one successor for each role.
- Consider and include gifts you want to make to anyone other than spouse/registered domestic partner or children.
4. Health Care Directive.
You will be asked to consider decisions related to a Health Care Directive (i.e., living will). Further information on those decisions is included in the questionnaire you will complete.
5. Fill out the Questionnaire.
Please join our mailing list to be notified when sign-ups will be open for our April 25, 2026 clinic. The questionnaire will be accessible at that time.
Please carefully complete the questionnaire with the information you have gathered. If you need to pause, you can choose the "Finish Later" option. Otherwise, when you have completed it, you can submit the form. Once you have submitted the form, you cannot make changes. However, if your decisions change, you can make changes during the Clinic with the attorney you are working with.
6. Set an Appointment.
Once you submit the questionnaire, you will receive an email with a link to schedule your appointment.
7. Attend Clinic and Sign Documents to Take with You.
On the Clinic date, you will meet with an attorney and another volunteer to review and complete the documents. The attorney will talk through the documents and make sure they accurately reflect your goals and decisions. You will then have your documents signed, witnessed, and notarized, as needed, which makes them legally valid. You will leave the Clinic with the full set of your original estate planning documents, which you will store securely for use as and when needed.
