Some of the UK’s favourite charities are working with local solicitors to allow people to write or update their Wills free of charge this March. The campaign is called Free Wills Month and it has run, with tremendous success, since 2005, and each year it raises £30 million in future income and now the campaign is running in Aberdeen, Barry, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Cardiff, Chesterfield, Chichester, Coventry, Crawley, Darlington, Dundee, Eastbourne, Edinburgh, Essex, Fife, Glasgow, Harrogate, Hastings, Hertfordshire, Horsham, Inverness, Kent, Kilmarnock, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Mid Wales, Middlesbrough, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Wales, Northamptonshire, Norwich, Perth, Peterborough, Sheffield, Sunderland, Surrey, Swansea, Wirral, Wolverhampton and Worthing.
The Charities are paying for a limited number of Wills to encourage more people to leave charitable gifts in their Wills (legacies), although there is no obligation for people using the service to leave a gift to the charity.
The Free Wills Month charities are Age UK, Alzheimer’s Research UK, British Heart Foundation, Guide Dogs, Marie Curie, Mencap, NSPCC, Oxfam, The Royal British Legion, The Salvation Army, Stroke Association, Versus Arthritis, RNID, RNLI, Breast Cancer Now, Mind, PDSA, Children’s Hospices Across Scotland, Dogs Trust and Help for Heroes. They all depend on legacies for a huge part of their income – which means their vital work is only made possible by the gifts left in Wills.
The beauty of leaving a legacy gift is that it costs nothing now. People are often surprised how far a gift in your Will can go, even a small percentage of your estate could make a big difference. Most people who use the service choose to leave a gift to one or more of the charities sponsoring the campaign.
The campaign is open to anyone aged 55 or over (in the case of a couple making mirror Wills it is sufficient if one has reached 55). All people have to do is call one of the participating solicitors shown in adverts in the local press or listed on our website www.freewillsmonth.org.uk before 5pm on Monday, 31st March.
Appointments are limited and can fill up quickly, so we recommend calling to book your Free Wills appointment sooner rather than later to avoid missing this opportunity to put your affairs in order while doing something good for charity.
Campaign runs from 3rd-31st March
Free solicitor written Will for anyone aged 55 and over
Visit www.freewillsmonth.org.uk for more information
