Before you Die: The Importance of Estate Planning
/This episode of Black Beat welcomes Ekua Hackman, an attorney with a passion for serving as an advocate for an ever growing elderly population in America. She currently works providing unbundled and full service estate planning and probate services to residents of historic N/NE Portland in order to help them retain assets and property via the Homeownership Asset Preservation Program ("HAPP"), the African American Alliance for Homeownership ("AAAH") and the City of Portland Housing Bureau.
What Black Beat Host, John Washington and Ekua Hackman talk about:
How she got her start in law and her primary motivation for having chosen this field of practice
Types of clients and cases she represents
Her work with the Homeownership Asset Preservation Program ("HAPP") and the African American Alliance for Homeownership ("AAAH")
Her perspective on the greatest hurdles facing aging Black Americans due to the racial wealth gap in America, particularly as it affects housing and homeownership opportunities
Ways in which the field of elder law changed post-pandemic
Her advice for people seeking affordable legal support and contact information for the Common Law Center
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When it comes down to it, deciding who will inherit your estate is a big decision and an important part of life planning. Smart estate planning helps protect families from the pain and expense of probate court and any conflict that may arise between heirs. The simple fact is that without a plan in place, you won’t get to choose who gets what.
However daunting the process may sound, Ekua Hackman from Commons Law Center wants you to know that estate planning is not just for the rich, white and wealthy.
“The Homeownership Asset Protection Program(HAPP) provides free estate plans specifically for Black people who qualify,” Hackman shared.”Participants qualify if they are long time homeowners that live in N/NE and meet the income requirements set by the City of Portland Housing Bureau and the African American Alliance for Homeownership(AAAH). The purpose of the program is to combat gentrification and build intergenerational wealth, to make sure that assets go on to the next generation and don’t get lost in courts. To qualify, you will hit up the AAAH and they will guide you through the income requirements and application process. Once you have qualified, they send you to me and we do a consultation where I make sure you understand how estate planning works and how it benefits you. I then have the client gather all the information, being as thorough as possible, which ultimately serves them in the end, including if they are incapacitated or disabled.”
The road to becoming an attorney specializing in estate planning started early. “I knew from a young age that I wanted to do something with my life that would ultimately help people so when I went to law school, I got really interested in estate planning. I learned about this program that had estate planning for Black people. It was kind of a miracle that this popped up, so I knew I had to apply, especially after seeing the level of gentrification that N/NE has gone through over the 9 years that I’ve been here. Nationally, we have lost about 3 million acres of land valued at about 6 billion or so over the last 100 years. Despite a history of being denied access to business opportunities, bank loans, resources, etc...one of the best ways to make sure the racial wealth gap does decrease is, if at all possible, get an estate plan. If you have funds or access through this program, your money will go to your family and not get caught up in the courts and going to attorneys working probate cases. It’s worth it to have a plan.”
Representing mainly Black people in their 30’s through their 80’s, Hackman helps her clients through the process of estate planning, including making sure that the title is correct and that nobody is going to come and seize the home or assets. “As you know, that’s a big deal, especially in this area,” she said. “It’s been really fun work because I’m doing something worthwhile with my degree and don’t have to help people that I think aren’t doing right. It’s been a really rewarding experience and the hardest thing is getting people to understand that this program is really for them, that there is no hidden agenda, no trick happening. We are not here to take your property, we are here to help you keep it.”
While many are relieved and appreciative to have her expert help, others are a bit more reticent. ”A little more than half are enthusiastic and excited about getting through the process and knowing how it will benefit them,” she observed. “About 40 percent are uncomfortable about it, but know it needs to be done. I often have to push and prod them a little to tell me what they want done after they pass away because they don’t want to imagine it. I know it’s hard, but because I’ve been in this business for a few years, it doesn’t faze me to talk about this process anymore, to talk about death.”
Reassuring her more wary clients that the program she represents is completely legitimate is of paramount concern. “Black folks have the lowest rates of advance care planning in the nation. Part of my webinar is explaining why they need an advance directive and power of attorney. Say you get into a car accident and you are out of commission for a couple weeks or months to recover so you need someone to take care of your person and your finances. Appoint a child, nephew, niece, anyone you trust to make decisions on your behalf. My duty as an attorney is to protect you and your assets. I joined this program specifically because I wanted to help Black people. Trying to convince them of that may take some more conversation, but that’s what I’m here for.”
Reflecting on some of the probate disasters she has witnessed over the course of her life and career motivates her to strive even harder to help her clients. “There are stories of probates that went horribly either because Mama made a will that wasn’t as effective as it needed to be, a title was not passed on correctly, estranged relatives are living in the house that aren’t supposed to be there and can’t be removed, etc...We do our best and once we are done working with them, they are satisfied with the services we provide to help our elderly clients age with grace.”
Hackman’s parting advice for anyone interested in estate planning services is to get in touch with local agencies working to ensure that everyone has access. “If you live in N/NE, express your interest in getting your affairs in order to Anita Stevenson 503 505 3517 at the African American Alliance for Homeownership. The more interest that we garner for this program, the longer the City will keep it around. If they think that there is not adequate interest, they won’t continue funding it. Even if you don’t qualify for services under the program, give us a call at the Commons Law Center where we do sliding scale fees based on income. If none of those options work for you, make sure every asset you have is going somewhere. Have a beneficiary with backups for life insurance policies and bank accounts. That can save a lot of trouble for you in the end.”
To reach the Ekua Hackman and the Commons Law Center,
call: (503) 850-0811 or visit www.thecommonslawcenter.org
