Provides information to help people make informed end-of-life choices that are consistent with their values and beliefs. Distributes forms such as advanced directives, medical powers of attorney, and living wills; note that if circumstances change, the plans can also be changed.

SEAGO Advance Care Planning | SEAGO Advance Care Planning

Programs that provide assistance for people who want to officially authorize another individual (and one or more alternates) to make health care decisions on their behalf in the event that they become incapacitated and are unable to make those decisions themselves. The appointed agent is authorized to review the medical records of the individual, admit and/or discharge the individual from a hospital or nursing facility, consult with his or her caregivers and sign forms that may be needed to assure that care is provided according to his or her preferences. The agent may also carry out the individual's preferences regarding organ donation.

Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care

Programs that provide assistance for people who want to prepare an advance psychiatric directive which officially authorizes another individual to make mental health care decisions on their behalf should they become legally incompetent to make their own decisions; provides instructions about the circumstances under which they can change their agent and who should be appointed as their guardian if a court decides to name one; documents their wishes regarding hospitalization and alternatives to hospitalization, medications, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), emergency interventions (including seclusion, restraint and medication) and experimental studies or drug trials; provides instructions regarding who should be notified in case of psychiatric hospitalization, who should be allowed to visit (or be prevented from visiting) and who should have temporary custody of their children; and specifies whether they have the right to suspend or terminate the power of attorney, if permitted within the jurisdiction, while incapacitated.

Durable Power of Attorney for Mental Health Care

Programs that provide assistance for people who want to draft a living will, also sometimes known as a personal directive, which describes in writing the forms of treatment individuals wish to receive or avoid at the end of their lives and the circumstances under which health care professionals should withhold or remove artificial life support or refrain from using heroic measures if the person is unable to provide informed consent due to incapacitation. The conditions in a living will take effect when the individual is in an irreversible condition and is not expected to survive, e.g., if they are in the last stages of a terminal illness, a coma or persistive vegetative state. Included are programs that provide copies of the necessary form as well as those that help people complete them. Not all states recognize the validity of living wills, but all have some mechanism such as a durable power attorney for health care which achieves the same objective.

Living Wills

Legal forms that people who have life-threatening medical conditions can obtain which instruct emergency personnel to take no action should their vital functions cease. If the individual is personally incapable of requesting the form, DNR orders can be issued by a physician if the individual has signed a living will or other directive, and can be requested by the individual's legally authorized representative, guardian and/or qualified relatives, usually the person's spouse and children. Bracelets, necklaces or other devices that patients may use to confirm the existence of a DNR order may also be available. DNR orders are governed by state law, and, where legal, are recognized by all hospitals and may be recognized in specified out-of-hospital settings, e.g., by EMT personnel responding to a medical emergency.

Do Not Resuscitate Orders

Programs that provide assistance for people with disabilities and their families who want to develop a comprehensive life plan which ensures a secure future for the person should the parents become incapacitated or die. Components of the plan may include goals for the individual with a disability; protection for the individual's spouse and/or dependent children; decisions regarding place of residence, health care, personal care, education and employment; identification of community resources to meet the individual's needs; provisions for financial security; appointment of an advocate or guardian to support the individual; and preparation of a Last Will and Testament, durable power of attorney, living trust, special needs trust or other legal mechanism for ensuring that the provisions of the life plan will be implemented as required.

Life Care Planning

Provides assistance and support for parents of children with Down syndrome. Services include new parent welcome packets; new parent gifts with books and other resources about Down syndrome; play groups for children ages 1-5 with Down syndrome and their siblings; parent support meetings and forums; a lending library open to the public; and information about and assistance with resources including DDD eligibility, guardianship matters, trusts, estate planning, employment issues, and more. Holds special events including Sharing Down Syndrome Walk, Wonderland Prom, Easter party, PJ party with Santa, Global Down Syndrome Day.

Sharing Down Syndrome Arizona | Sharing Down Syndrome Arizona

Divisions of businesses or nonprofit agencies that are responsible for developing products or delivering designated services to the public. Departments of NGOs are generally led by a manager, supervisor, director or vice president.

Nongovernmental Agency Departments

Programs that provide assistance for people who want to establish a trust for a chronically and severely disabled beneficiary which supplements government benefits such as SSI and Medicaid rather than supplanting them and which provides an income for the person with a disability within allowable limits. Special needs trusts are generally established using the assets of a third party but may, under certain specified conditions, be established with the disabled person's own funds, and are managed by a trustee on behalf of the individual with a disability. Trusts established with the disabled person's funds may have "pay back" requirements which enable the state to collect funds at the end of the trust as reimbursement for medical care expenditures.  Special needs trusts may be revocable or irrevocable, and may be established and utilized on behalf of the person with a disability while the parents or others funding the trust are still living (an intervivos or living special needs trust) or following the death of the parents (a testamentary special needs trust).

Special Needs Trust Preparation Assistance

Programs that provide educational and supportive services that help new parents or those expecting a child, to prepare them on an emotional and practical level for the impact the newborn will have on their lives and relationships. The programs are open to all parents. Initial focus areas include healthy eating for the mother, danger signs in pregnancy, sibling preparation and being ready for labor and delivery, followed by practical information on basic infant care, newborn behaviors, baby supplies, bathing techniques, diapering, breastfeeding and other feeding options, as well as infant and childhood illnesses. Later topics may include walking, talking, toilet training and other aspects of child development, all to help ensure that infants and toddlers are nurtured, live in a safe environment and receive proper health care.

General Expectant/New Parent Assistance

Provides free civil legal services for people with low income in Pima County. Includes cases involving landlord/tenant disputes, family law, minor guardianship, consumer protection, bankruptcy, end of life planning, Social Security, and employment. Does not assist with immigration, DUIs, or criminal cases.

Step Up to Justice | Step Up to Justice

Programs that provide assistance for people who want to obtain custody of their children as a part of a divorce or separation action, who want to appeal all or a portion of the terms of a previous child custody decision, or in the case of a noncustodial parent, who want to establish or appeal the terms of a visitation award or a court-ordered visitation schedule. Included are programs that provide child custody/visitation assistance for people who are not legally married but have children together.

Child Custody/Visitation Assistance

Programs that focus broadly on helping individuals who are having difficulty understanding, accessing, and/or are unaware of grants, payments, services or other benefits for which they are eligible rather than offering more specialized services relating to a particular type of benefit or service.

General Benefits and Services Assistance

Programs that provide assistance for people who have cases involving violations of federal and state statutes governing sales and credit practices involving consumer goods, in situations where appeals to consumer complaints organizations have not resolved the issue. Consumer law cases involve deceptive or unconscionable advertising and sales practices, product quality, credit financing and reporting, debt collection, leases, and other aspects of consumer transactions.

Consumer Law

Programs that provide assistance for people who believe that they have been denied equal access to employment or that they have been treated unfairly as employees, i.e., that they were sexually harassed or denied equal pay for equal work, passed over for a promotion, denied training opportunities or fired on the basis of their age, gender, race or ethnic origin, nationality, religion, disability, sexual orientation or marital status. Also included are programs that provide assistance for job applicants who feel they have been denied employment because of a military service obligation or help restore job seniority and pension rights which have been withheld from military service personnel because of an absence from work due to a service obligation.

Employment Discrimination Assistance

Programs that provide information and guidance for individuals who need assistance in the area of law which relates to the rights and needs of older adults, especially in the areas of age discrimination, consumer fraud, estate planning and management, living trusts, trust administration, probate, property law, retirement planning, pension benefits, Social Security benefits, Medicaid and Medicare, disability planning, long-term care alternatives, health care decisions, elder abuse, guardianships and conservatorships.

Elder Law

Programs that provide assistance for people who are in favor of or want to oppose the appointment of a guardian to care for and/or manage the affairs of a child or adolescent during minority. The court may appoint a guardian of the person in situations where there is no parent to meet the child's needs due to death, incapacity, abandonment, military service or other reasons; and/or a guardian of the child's estate. In the latter situation, the guardian is given responsibility for managing the child's funds, collecting and making an inventory of the child's assets, keeping accurate financial records, and regularly filing financial accountings with the court.

Child Guardianship Assistance

Programs that provide assistance for people who are unable to pay their creditors and need to declare bankruptcy. Included may be help in evaluating a personal or business bankruptcy as an option, assistance in completing and filing bankruptcy forms and/or representation in bankruptcy hearings.

Bankruptcy Assistance

Programs that provide assistance which helps to ensure that parents fulfill their mutual obligation to financially support and provide health care for their children. Included are services for people who want to locate an absent parent; establish paternity; establish a child support order; request that the non-custodial parent provide health insurance for a child in conjunction with a child support order; change the amount of a child support award; dispute a child support award; or enforce payment of child support monies in cases where the supporting parent is delinquent in paying or refuses to pay or make health insurance arrangements altogether. Child support is money paid by one parent to another for the maintenance, including the education, of their children following the dissolution of their marriage or other relationship. Non-custodial parents enrolled in an insurance plan at work may be required to include the child under this coverage while those not covered by any insurance plan may be required to obtain medical coverage, if available at a reasonable cost. Child support assistance/enforcement may be provided by private attorneys, legal clinics, family law facilitators' offices or child support enforcement programs which are available in all states, often as a component of the district attorney's office.

Child Support Assistance/Enforcement

Programs that help tenants and landlords resolve disputes regarding security and other rental deposits, unsanitary conditions, failure to make repairs, privacy, notice requirements, excessive rent increases, nonpayment of rent, neglect or damage to property, overcrowding or other grievances.

Landlord/Tenant Dispute Resolution

Programs that provide legal counseling and/or representation for low-income individuals who need assistance in routine legal matters, usually in the area of bankruptcy, housing, public benefits, family law, elder law or immigration/naturalization.

General Legal Aid

Organizations that are actively seeking licensed attorneys who are qualified in a particular area of law (e.g., family law, bankruptcy law, consumer law, landlord/tenant law, intellectual property law) to provide pro bono legal services to low income clients or nonprofit organizations referred for this purpose. Volunteer attorneys may be asked to provide legal information, advocacy or referrals; prepare wills, guardianship/conservatorship papers, advance medical directives and durable powers of attorney; or represent clients in court.

Pro Bono Legal Aid Volunteer Opportunities

Programs that are staffed by lawyers who offer information and guidance regarding legal matters, proposed lines of conduct, claims or contentions including opinions on the party's rights, responsibilities and liabilities; and who offer suggestions for an appropriate course of action, but do not represent clients in court.