Area Agency on Aging program has free legal services for veterans

Prince William Area Agency on Aging’s Wills for Vets program is set to help Prince William, Manassas and Manassas Park veterans draw up legal documents.

The area agency is partnering with the Prince William Bar Association to provide local veterans with wills, power of attorney documents and medical directives, according to Barbara Diehl, supportive services specialist for the Agency on Aging.

Veterans who are interested in taking advantage of the free service will need to attend three meetings to get things in order. All of the Saturday meetings will be at the Woodbridge Senior Center at 13850 Church Hill Drive in Woodbridge. Each meeting will concentrate on one of the legal documents and last 90 minutes.

At the first educational meeting on Sept. 30, veterans will see a presentation and be able to ask questions and get answers. Veterans will also receive questionnaires at the first meeting that they will take home, fill out and return when they attend the second meeting on Oct. 14. At that meeting, attorneys will go over personal information with the veterans, Diehl said.

Completing and signing the documents, with witnesses and notaries, is scheduled for the third meeting on Oct. 28. Veterans will be able to take their documents home with them after the last session.

Diehl said veterans should take advantage the service while it’s being offered. “Legal advice is not something that’s going to be on someone’s priority or their front burner, so this gives them the opportunity to be able to address that need that they have to make sure that they have basic documents in place.”

Diehl said the meetings will be limited to 80 veterans and their spouses who RSVP. Contact Diehl at 703-792-7175 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to register. Find more information at http://www.pwcgov.org/aging.