Professional Wills and Estate Planning

A clinician’s ethical responsibilities do not necessarily end when illness, incapacity, or death makes continued practice impossible; without a clear professional will and estate plan, clients’ confidentiality, records, continuity of care, and access to essential information may be left in the hands of family members or estate representatives who are unprepared to manage them.

Planning for an unexpected or permanent absence can help clinicians protect their clients, reduce confusion during a difficult transition, and spare loved ones from having to make complex professional decisions without adequate guidance, making this live training a valuable opportunity to address responsibilities that are easy to postpone but too important to overlook.

Ann Ordway, JD, PhD, brings an uncommon combination of legal, clinical, academic, and ethics expertise to this topic. A retired family law attorney with more than 20 years of private-practice experience and nearly 14 years of graduate-level teaching experience, Dr. Ordway holds a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision, is the author of the forthcoming ninth edition of The Counselor and the Law, and serves on the Ethics Revision Task Force contributing to the development of new ethics-code provisions related to forensic practice.

Through focused instruction and practice-relevant examples, Dr. Ordway will connect clinicians’ ethical responsibilities to the practical decisions involved in preparing a professional will and coordinating it with a personal estate plan. Her interdisciplinary perspective will help participants consider not only what provisions should be included, but also why those provisions matter for clients, records, confidentiality, continuity of care, and the people responsible for carrying out the clinician’s wishes.

The course examines ethical obligations that may continue when a clinician becomes unavailable because of incapacitation or death, including the protection of client files, preservation of confidentiality, notification of clients, and transition of care to another qualified professional. Participants will explore the purpose of a professional will, the role of a designated professional in managing practice closure or transition, and the relationship between professional planning and the clinician’s broader estate plan. The training will also address essential provisions to include, the risks of leaving these decisions to beneficiaries or estate representatives without clinical credentials, and best practices for reducing avoidable harm, confusion, legal exposure, and hardship.

Key Takeaways:

• Recognize continuing ethical responsibilities: Understand the ethical considerations that may extend beyond a clinician’s life or ability to remain actively engaged in practice.
• Plan for responsible practice transition: Learn how professional wills and estate planning can support confidentiality, record protection, client communication, and continuity of care during a long-term or permanent absence.
• Include essential safeguards: Identify necessary provisions that can guide the qualified professional, family members, or estate representatives responsible for carrying out the clinician’s plans.

Why this course?

• Addresses an often-overlooked ethical risk: Prepare for incapacitation or death with the same professional care used to plan for vacations, emergencies, and other anticipated absences.
• Integrates legal and clinical perspectives: Benefit from Dr. Ordway’s combined experience as an attorney, counselor educator, ethics contributor, author, and graduate-level instructor.
• Provides practical, profession-specific guidance: Move beyond general estate planning to consider the specialized protections needed for client records, confidentiality, case transitions, and responsible practice closure.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify 2 key ethical considerations that transcend a clinical mental health practitioner’s death.
• Discuss best practices for professional wills and estate planning as a means of meeting responsibilities to clients beyond practice.
• Explain 3 necessary provisions to include in a professional will and estate plan.

Thoughtful professional estate planning can safeguard clients while also giving colleagues, family members, and estate representatives clearer direction during an already difficult time. This two-hour live webinar offers clinicians a structured way to begin or strengthen that planning so their ethical commitments remain protected even when they are no longer able to manage the practice themselves.