Make a Will Month

John Kay and Mahua Jana

Will Aid's Make a Will Month offers the opportunity to put your affairs in order, secure your loved one's future and give to charities helping the young, the elderly and whole communities in the UK and overseas.

Molesworths solicitors are inviting people to contact them to book appointments for November when they will prepare basic wills without charging their normal fee. All that they will ask in return is that clients consider making a voluntary donation to Will Aid. The suggested donation is just £90 for a single Will or £150 for a pair of mirror Wills.

The money raised is shared by nine UK charities that carry out life-changing work here in the UK and around the world, namely ActionAid, Age UK, British Red Cross, Christian Aid, NSPCC, Sightsavers, Save the Children, SCIAF (Scotland) and Trocaire (N. Ireland).

More than half of UK adults (53%) don't have a will and so have not made any legally valid provision for what they would like to happen after their death. Around one third of people who die each year do so without a will and their estate is therefore distributed according to a set of rules which cannot adequately cope with modern family circumstances.

This can lead to a great deal of stress and uncertainty, as well as financial hardship, for those left behind.

Even if you have a will it is important to keep it up-to-date. Will Aid's research shows that almost 60% of people with a will have not revised it for more than three years and these older wills are almost certain to be out of date – assets will have been disposed of and new ones acquired, children and any named guardians will have grown older, whole families could have been re-configured. Experts recommend routinely reviewing a will every three to five years, and making a new will as soon as significant family changes occur.

Kerry Hargreaves, Molesworths Practice Manager, says: "Will Aid is a fantastic opportunity to get an affordable will with one of our friendly and approachable solicitors. They are giving their time without any payment to help people look after their loved ones and, at the same time, to raise funds for very worthwhile causes. This is the perfect opportunity to have a qualified solicitor draw up your will, protect your loved ones and give to charity at the same time. "

To make an appointment, you can contact the Molesworths team at:

mail@molesworths.com

01706 356666