Wills Clinic: Responding in Times of Crisis

While much of Knoxville was gearing up for a football gameday on a Saturday in October, third-year Chloe Lyons and her supervising attorney, Miranda Goodwin (’20), met with their clients, a married couple, to sign their powers of attorney. The clients asked for a Saturday signing date because the husband, an employee of the Tennessee Department of Transportation, was working night and day providing essential repairs in response to Hurricane Helene. After the hurricane, the couple reached out to the clinic because they couldn’t afford a private attorney but wanted the security that a solid estate plan provides. They appointed trusted health care and financial agents in case of an emergency. Last Wills and Testaments would be signed on another day, but powers of attorney couldn’t wait. 

“Preparing my clients’ powers of attorney and advance directives was a small way for me to honor the work my client was doing to help so many Tennesseans who were without access to basic resources or utilities with so many roads and highways damaged or destroyed by the storm,” said Lyons. “I want to use my legal skills to help those in need gain a bit of peace of mind in the most difficult times.” 

Each semester, Wills Clinic students represent approximately 50 clients in estate planning and uncontested conservatorship cases. Part of the College of Law’s Legal Clinic at the University of Tennessee, Wills Clinic professors connect with local non-profits, like Habitat for Humanity and Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, and offer free presentations about the importance of estate planning. From those sessions and client referrals, individuals call the Wills Clinic’s hotline to request free legal assistance. 

“There is always a significant waitlist because affordable legal assistance is scarce,” said Miranda Goodwin, a former Wills Clinic student who now serves as one of the clinic’s two professors. “We have to triage cases to help respond to emergencies, especially when a client is in hospice and needs a will, or a disabled child is about to turn 18 and needs a conservator.” 

Third-year student Caroline McCarter prepared and filed a conservatorship for a family whose child, incapacitated by disabilities, was about to turn 18 years old. Tennessee law presumes that anyone who attains the age of majority has capacity to make decisions for themselves. HIPAA and other privacy laws further complicate a family’s ability to help a younger relative who needs support in making health care and financial decisions. A court-appointed conservator lifts these obstacles.

To prepare the pleadings for court, student attorneys, like McCarter, must gather and analyze data to determine whether medical personnel agree that a court-appointed conservator is the best course of action for the soon-to-be adult. Students have to navigate communications with multiple parties and between family members. They also have to learn how to manage formal and informal court rules that vary by county. The process of establishing a conservatorship rarely is swift or easy, even for uncontested matters. 

McCarter and her supervising professors walked the family through the entire conservatorship process. Before Christmas, a hearing was set and McCarter’s client was approved to be her adult child’s conservator. Tearing up in relief when the hearing was over, the client said, “I cannot thank you enough for all that you did for us.”

Caroline McCarter (left) with her client after the conservatorship


Not all cases handled by the Wills Clinic are emergencies. But for any case, student attorneys must spring to immediate action to keep the ball rolling to help their clients. 

“Real life experience helping individuals and families become better prepared for uncertain futures is critically important for law students and their professional development,” said Wills Clinic Adjunct Professor Sarah Malia. 

The Wills Clinic fills a large access to justice gap, serving as a critical legal resource for families in East Tennessee.