Advising a terminally ill client and his/her family

Georgia Akers (Associate Judge, Probate Court No. 3, Harris County, Texas) has recently published her article entitled On Death and Dying: Counseling the Terminally Ill Client and the Loved Ones Left Behind, 1 Est. Plan. & Comm. Prop. L.J. 1 (2008).

Here is the introduction to her article:

When preparing estate planning documents, probate attorneys and their clients often face issues involving death.  It is human nature that the attorneys and clients think of death in the future rather than imminent death, and often the estate planning is serious but can have lighthearted moment.

This article is not about these clients.  This article is about clients and families who have been informed by their doctor that the grim reaper is around the corner and death is pending.  At the end of the representation, the estate attorney’s farewell said to the client is final.  I remember my terminally ill clients.  There are few words that can be said when they depart the office except, “Goodbye and God bless.”

Terminally ill clients go through psychological states of dying, and each stage may have an impact on estate planning.  These clients may also ask for unusual legal advice that is not normally what attorneys encounter.  As the lawyers who draft estate planning documents, we need to be aware of these stages and prepared for unusual requests for legal advice.

After the death of the client, the estate attorney is faced with assisting the family with the management of the estate.  Simultaneously, the family is going through phases of grief that can cloud their judgment and communication skills.  The purpose of this paper is to better prepare attorneys for representing the terminally ill client and family.