Still don’t have a will? Here’s your chance to get one written for free
TWO charitable will-writing schemes are open to new customers – with solicitors around the country offering to draw up a last will and testament free of charge. They do this hoping that people who spell out future wishes and provisions for family members after they die will also donate to good causes.
The next Free Wills Month starts in just two weeks and is inviting over-55s to register their interest now. This is followed by Will Aid offering appointments during November, but is taking bookings now and is open to all ages.
But anyone interested in either scheme needs to act fast to ensure they get a slot. Appointments are limited and given on a first-come, first-served basis.
Peter de Vena Franks, campaign director of Will Aid, says: ‘The sooner you contact a local firm the more likely you are to get an appointment.
‘If there isn’t a participating firm close to you on the list at the moment, do keep checking the website as new solicitors are being added each week.’
For Will Aid, solicitors forgo fees in return for an upfront charitable donation – £100 for an individual will and £180 for a couple are the suggested sums though donations are voluntary.
The idea behind Free Wills Month is to remember a charity in a will – an altruistic gesture that is rising in popularity, according to Co-op Legal Services.
The number of its clients who left money to charity in a will increased by 53 per cent in the last 12 months. Paul Oldham, from Manchester, is among those to have done so.
The 52-year-old wanted to make a will after his mother died a couple of years ago. She suffered with Alzheimer’s disease and Paul was her carer in her later years.
He has arranged to leave ten per cent of his estate to the Alzheimer’s Society.
Paul says: ‘My mum didn’t leave a will. Her estate was straightforward to sort out but it did get me thinking about mortality and what I wanted to do with my own affairs.’ He says a benefit of using a professional service was having an adviser ask pertinent questions throughout the process. Paul adds: ‘I don’t have any children and when you leave your estate to someone you have to think about who might outlive who, for example.
‘Making a will is a very personal decision and I also think any little you can give to charity is a really good thing.’
According to the Co-op, the causes its clients are most likely to honour in their wills are those relating to cancer, animals and international efforts. But writing a will is often about more than just who gets how much.
Co-op’s head of wills, James Antoniou, says: ‘A will can also be used to choose who will be legally responsible for dealing with an estate after death, as well as appointing legal guardians for young children, or perhaps setting up a trust fund to meet a particular objective.’
He adds: ‘Without one, the law decides how an estate is distributed. This inevitably leads to uncertainty and unnecessary stress for loved ones left behind.’