Free Tax Help, Estate Planning Documents To Be Provided for First Responders and Military Personnel

HELENA-WEST HELENA, ARK., Feb. 27, 2013 - Dedicated teams of attorneys and IRS-certified volunteer tax preparers will be available to prepare free tax returns and free simple estate planning documents for first responders, veterans, and active duty military personnel and their families in Phillips County on Saturday, March 9, 2013. The event will be held from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Southern Bancorp lobby, 502 Cherry St., Helena.

Volunteers will be able to prepare wills, advance directives, and powers of attorney for health care and financial matters in addition to 2012 tax returns.

Firefighters, police officers, active duty military and reservists, veterans, emergency health care workers, and their spouses can participate by scheduling a free appointment online at www.arlegalservices.org/deltaforce. We appreciate the support from Fire Chief Reginald Wilson, Police Chief Uless Wallace, and Sheriff Neal Byrd in helping bring this service to Helena-West Helena.

First responders can also schedule appointments by calling Sandra Lee at 870.816.1120 or via e-mail atSandra.lee@southernpartners.org. All appointments are free, and walk-ins are welcome.

The event is a service provided by Arkansas attorneys from the Phillips County Bar Association, Legal Aid of Arkansas, and other pro bono attorneys, and by volunteers tax preparers from Southern Bancorp and Southern Bancorp Community Partners.

More information about the event and documents that first responders can request is available atwww.arlegalservices.org/deltaforce.

Southern Bancorp is one of America's largest and most profitable community development banks. Together with its nonprofit affiliate Southern Bancorp Community Partners, it seeks to reduce poverty by improving education and economic opportunities for individuals and families. For more information visit www.banksouthern.com and www.southernpartners.org.

Legal Aid of Arkansas and the Center for Arkansas Legal Services are non-profit organizations that provide free legal services to low-income Arkansans with civil legal problems, including orders of protection for domestic abuse victims, uncontested guardianships of minors, consumer issues and public housing. With 17 offices staffed by approximately 50 attorneys throughout the state, plus a volunteer pool of about 1,500 attorneys, legal aid services benefited more than 33,000 low-income people and the elderly with their critical legal needs in 2011. However, more than 555,000 were eligible for legal aid in 2011, and thousands of those Arkansans in need were turned away due to lack of resources. Learn more at www.arlegalservices.org |www.arkansasjustice.org.