MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- The most important thing for Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class David Yanvary and his wife, Rachel, is what's best for their 10-month-old daughter, Adeline.
But they don't want a court making that decision if anything happens to them - a possibility that shook their sensibilities as the Terry Schiavo case brought the issue to light.
The Yanavarys are among local servicemembers who are visiting base lawyers in increasing numbers to set up wills in the aftermath of the Schiavo case.
Yanvary, a military policeman at the Fallbrook Naval Weapons Station here, admitted that he has procrastinated on drafting a will. But the removal of the feeding tube from the 41-year-old brain- damaged woman - culminating years of legal wrangling between family members over her future - drove them to draft a will at the Joint Legal Assistance Center here.
The importance of making high-impact choices, including child and health-care preferences known through wills has crystallized for more servicemembers here since the Terry Schiavo case. The case garnered national media attention that for weeks analyzed and debated the rights of critically ill patients who can't speak for themselves.
"I've been putting it off for so long, and then she got concerned after watching the whole Schiavo thing, so I agreed to come out here," said Yanvary, 27, from Murietta.
The Schiavo case - and a litany of court decisions upholding the decision to pull feeding tubes from Schiavo, resulting in her death nearly two weeks later - has alerted servicemembers to the importance of wills, confirmed 1st Lt. Robert J. Wade, an attorney with the Joint Legal Assistance Center here.
"We have seen more people come in and ask about wills since the Terry Schiavo case," he said.
"I couldn't make a decision on the whole Terry Schiavo ordeal. It was tough," said Rachel Yanvary, a 27-year-old homemaker. "I wouldn't want my family to fight like that.
"A will makes everything so much simpler," she said.
If a person dies without a will, his/her assets will be divided between the spouse, children or other relatives, according to California law. The court will appoint a relative to collect and distribute the assets.
Although the Schiavo case increased awareness about life-and-death issues, it has not caused any second-guessing in her marriage.
"It's not a trust issue," said Rachel, who has been married to her husband for three years. "I just like to plan everything."