Have you made a will? It can seem daunting and emotional to contemplate and plan for what happens when you die. However, if you die without making a will it may leave your loved ones with financial and legal problems. Alongside grieving they will have to deal with complicated administration issues surrounding the grant of probate. All this can be avoided if you make a will. You may be put off by the expense of hiring a solicitor but there is help at hand. There are many charities that offer free-will-writing by solicitors. In return, they hope you’ll make a donation or leave a ‘bequest’ in your will (leaving them something when you die) – though you’re not obliged to.
November is Will Aid month which is a UK-wide campaign involving seven charities. Hundreds of solicitors offer to write basic wills for any adult. They waive their usual fee, and instead invite you to make an upfront donation to Will Aid. The suggested donations are £100 for a single will or £180 for a pair of basic ‘mirror wills’, which is shared among the charities. If you can’t afford it, you can give less.
The supporting charities are: Age UK, British Red Cross, Christian Aid, NSPCC, Save the Children, SCIAF and Trócaire.
I have friends who have taken advantage of this resource and they have been delighted at how simple and easy it was to achieve peace of mind by writing their will.
More details can be found @ www.willaid.org.uk/
