Through a collaboration with the Cooperative Extension Services of the University of Kentucky and Childers & Baxter PLLC, LiKEN organizes an annual series of Free Will-Writing Clinics across Eastern Kentucky in the spring, summer, and fall. The clinics gives participants the opportunity to sit down with a lawyer to write a will for absolutely no cost and learn about heirs' property. By bringing lawyers to underserved communities and offering will-writing services for free, we aim to prevent the further proliferation of heirs' property and to connect community members with attorneys in their area.  There are no eligibility requirements.

We wrapped up the 2025 series in November with a Last Will & Testament Clinic in Prestonsburg, Floyd county. The 2026 series will kick-off in March and continue until November with one clinic per month month, in a different county each month. All of the clinics will be posted in our event page, where you can register for a specific time slot. We ask that participants make an appointment but, walk-ins are also accepted.

Background & Mission

Eastern Kentucky both has a dearth of accessible estate planning services and a long history of property disputes that stem, in large part, from inadequate estate planning. Heirs' property, for instance, is typically created when people pass away intestate, or without a will. Without a will that clearly defines who inherits the land, the name on the deed remains that of the deceased owner, leaving the title to the property "clouded." This traveling free wills clinic program aims to address the chronic need for accessible legal services/information in the region and prevent both the creation of heirs' property and conflict over property rights. Moreover, the clinic and information session provides residents with an opportunity to start a conversation about heirs’ property in their community, the steps they can take to acquire clear title, and how the Appalachian Heirs Property Center can assist them along their title clearing journey.

As a final note, the lack of adequate estate planning in Eastern Kentucky is a direct product of the distrustful relationship between communities in the historic coalfields of Central Appalachia and lawyers, whose interests have often aligned with the energy, timbering, and real estate industries. An ongoing wills clinic program will introduce people to legal services providers — like our partners Baxter & Childers — who have earned a reputation as defenders of the land and people. Will clinics have the potential to cultivate positive relationships between people in historically-coal producing communities and legal service providers and that may be the first step towards healing the climate of distrust that has built up over the last century of resource exploitation. 

Cumulative Impact

From March 2024 to November 2025, LiKEN organized 15 Last Will & Testament Free Clinics across 11 counties, during which volunteer attorneys drafted 244 wills. At a market rate of $300 per simple will, the Appalachian Traveling Will Clinic has delivered $36,600 worth of estate planning services directly to residents in Eastern Kentucky at no cost. This work would not have been possible without the many attorneys who volunteered their time and their services.

Counties served with Last Will & Testament Free Clinic:

Harlan, Madison, Martin, Leslie, Johnson, Breathitt, Pike, Perry, Floyd, Powell, and Lee