Texas Law Wills Clinic

Students will interview clients about their estates, help educate them about estate planning and alternatives to probate, and use a template to draft wills that reflect their clients’ preferences about what should happen to their estates upon death. Students also may draft deeds designed to transfer property outside of the costly probate process. If probate is necessary, a will allows the client to elect to have a more cost-effective independent administration, dictate who should receive their personal possessions or other assets, and plan for any adult incapacitated or minor children.

Organization

Mithoff Pro Bono Program

The Wills Clinic is an internal project of the Richard and Ginni Mithoff Pro Bono Program. The Wills Clinic enables students to provide free legal services to persons who historically have had inequitable access to the probate process, and to help clients mitigate economic injustices created by the infrastructure of our civil justice system.

Project Details

Project Date

Sunday, September 24

Project Time
12:30pm-3pm
Approximate hours of work requested
7 hours, including asynchronous self-study and training
Training
Asynchronous review of self-study materials on Canvas (2-3 hours) AND in-person training on Wednesday, September 20, 5pm-6:30pm (TNH 2.140; Zoom access available)
Skills used
Client interviewing/counseling; document preparation; community education; attention to detail; cultural competence
Project location
Ruiz Branch, Austin Public Library, 1600 Grove Blvd. (carpools can be arranged if needed)
Number of student volunteers requested
20
Class year preference
1L, 2L, 3L, LLM
Required skills
Students with Spanish fluency or fluency in another language are encouraged to apply but foreign language skills are not required; students with an interest in estate planning, probate, fiduciary litigation, guardianship law, and property law are strongly encouraged to apply