Understanding the Right Legal Issue in Family Law

 

This guest post is from Kari Ann Hedwall, Regent Law 3L and Wills, Trusts, and Estates student:

 

Interning with Dickerson and Smith Law Group who took on a divorce case for Ms. Jones* from her husband, who now lives in the Philippines, I had the opportunity to help Attorney Mr. Pallai in drafting a separation decree for Ms. Jones.  After Mr. Pallai reviewed the draft I made, we sent the separation decree to Ms. Jones for her to review before signing.  Ms. Jones called me and said that she had questions regarding the separation agreement.  She told me that she was having surgery the following week and was concerned that if she died, her husband would get everything that he wanted once she passed because they were not divorced.  I quickly realized that her question did not concern the separation agreement but dealt with wills.

I asked Ms. Jones if she had a will.  She said that she did not, so I briefly explained what intestacy meant and that Virginia had governing "default" rules for how belongings are passed when someone dies intestate.  I got the attorney on the phone with Ms. Jones to explain the laws that governed people who passed without a will and told Ms. Jones that we could create a will for her before her surgery.  The attorney also discussed Ms. Jones getting an AMD and a POA simultaneously.   After this phone call, I helped create a will, AMD, and POA for this woman. Ms. Jones came in later the next day and was able to get her separation agreement, will, AMD, and POA all signed at the same time with witnesses and a notary.

*not the client's actual name.