The Rural Estate Planning Clinic Program provides Clinic students an opportunity to venture into greater Nebraska and provide free estate planning services to senior citizens in need.
The mission of the Rural Estate Planning Clinic (REP Clinic) is two-fold: to provide free, basic estate planning services to senior citizens, and to provide Clinic students an opportunity to build competency in client communication and interaction, legal problem solving, and drafting and executing common estate planning documents. From start to finish, the intake, drafting and execution of the documents takes approximately four weeks, concluding with a visit to the hosting senior center to meet with the clients and execute the documents. Through the project, student attorneys have provided estate planning services to seniors across the State of Nebraska, including clinics held in Beatrice, Hastings, North Platte, Scottsbluff, Columbus, Kimball, Fremont, Columbus, Omaha, Cozad, Bellevue, Sidney, Lemoyne, Mullen, Lewellen, Alliance, Chadron and Gordon.
Each semester, students are selected to participate in the REP Clinic. The concept of the REP Clinic is to pre-draft, and then execute on-site, one or more of the following documents: a simple will, a durable power of attorney instrument, a health care power of attorney instrument, a living will and a transfer on death deed. Each student is typically assigned 3 to 6 clients.
The availability and location of future REP Clinics will be announced in local media and at local Senior Centers.