Welcome to the second issue of Bar Leader Toolkit, which brings together ABA resources on a single topic. This issue focuses on advance directives and offers information that you and other bar association leaders can share with your communities, providing a supplement to your own resources or programs.

H. L. Mencken and Bette Davis are each credited with the aphorism, "Old Age is No Place for Sissies." The same can be said of planning for what follows - one's final illness and demise.

Because many families visit with elderly relatives during the summer, this season seems an appropriate time to shine a spotlight on some of the most important issues they face: how to plan for when loved ones can no longer care for themselves, how to know that decisions reflect what family members want or how to help loved ones articulate their wishes for end-of-life care.

End-of-life planning takes resolve and a willingness to confront our own mortality. Given that only about one-quarter of Americans have any type of advance directive, it just might take an effort by lawyers to increase that percentage.

One challenge is to increase awareness of the benefits of having advance directives among all clients, especially those who are elderly. Lawyers need to communicate that the process of creating an advance directive will assure clients that their wishes will be honored.

Another challenge is to help clients and community members realize how valuable their planning can be for their loved ones. When most people realize that an end-of-life plan is a gift only they can give to their family and friends, they come to accept the responsibility of completing an advance directive. Lawyers have the duty of helping clients focus on the process, not the ultimate outcome.

This toolkit contains information and resources that help dispel some of the myths clients might have concerning advance directives. It includes an op-ed piece, a sample news release, a message you may want to use in your bar publication and resources on advance directives and aging. These pieces link to online resources that offer detailed background on the topics.

And, as you and your members are planning, we suggest that you may want to take a look at the resources on the ABA Second Season of Service Web site that includes information on a wide range of volunteer and pro bono opportunities around the country.

Please know that your thoughts on the toolkit are important. After you have a chance to review this material, can you please take a few minutes to fill out the survey linked from this page and let us know your thoughts?

We appreciate your time and the opportunity to be of service.

Sincerely,

Roseanne Lucianek
Director, Bar Services

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© 2007 American Bar Association