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Wills serve many purposes over and above ensuring your worldly goods end up going where you want them to.  They affirm our relationship to the world, and are an opportunity for us to have positive consequences even when we have died.  Not least we would know a lot less about local and family history with out them.

Frighteningly 60% of the British population have not made a will.  If you have a will, is it up to date? The charity Will Aid is launching November as ‘national make a will month’.

Participating solicitors give their time for free to make up new wills or to up-date existing wills.  The testator (the person whose will it is) is then asked to make a donation to the Charity, which supports various other organisations, including actionaid, the British Red Cross, Christian Aid, Help the Aged, NSPCC and Save the Children.

Ms Ann Weaver of the Ashbourne branch of Flint Bishop is one of the participating solicitors, however you can click here to find out about other participating solicitors.

Will Aid have issued the following press release:

NEWS!
Since it was founded in 1988, Will Aid has run every other year. From November 2008, the campaign will run annually, making November the National Make a Will Month.

What is Will Aid?
Will Aid is a fundraising campaign involving nine of the UK’s leading charities (ActionAid, British Red Cross, Christian Aid, Help the Aged, NSPCC, Save the Children UK, Sight Savers International, SCIAF and Trocaire.)The objective of the campaign is simple but compelling: to encourage people to make a Will with a solicitor and at the same time raise vital funds for the Will Aid charities.

What’s important about Will Aid?

• It involves charities working together – something the public really appreciate
• It involves solicitors being generous and using their professional skills to benefit charity
• It involves large numbers of the general public at every stage of life creating security for their loved ones
• Will Aid is a powerful force for change. It has raised almost £7m million for charity since it was founded in 1988.

History
Will Aid was founded by solicitor, Graeme Pagan of Hosack and Sutherland, Oban, Scotland. In the spirit of Live Aid, he was deeply moved by the famine in Ethiopia and wanted to involve his profession in action.

With Will Aid, everyone is a winner
Making a Will is straightforward, simple and an important way of protecting your family for the future. But many people die without having made a Will. When this happens, any belongings are distributed according to the laws of intestacy – a detailed impersonal set of rules that dictate where the money goes. By publicising the importance of making a Will, the campaign is helping people look after their own families as well as helping families in need around the world. Solicitors will draw up a basic Will free of charge.In return for this service, the solicitors hope the Will Aid client will donate to the Will Aid charities the fee they would normally charge. The suggested donation level is £75 for a single Will, £110 for mirror Wills and £40 for a codicil. If there is additional work involved, for example estate planning, solicitors may charge their normal fee for the work.

We aim to be able to provide a Will Aid solicitor within easy travelling distance of all prospective will-makers.

Also have you thought about making a charitable bequest.

Legacies are a vital source of income for charities.  Legacy pledges help us with our long-term plans, knowing that funds may become available. Whether the legacy is large or small it will make a real and lasting difference to people’s lives.

Leaving a legacy could also save inheritance tax – a complex subject that your solicitor will be able to advise you on – directing the money you have worked so hard for all your life to your chosen charity rather than the tax man.

You can either leave a fixed sum (known as a Pecuniary Legacy), or part or all of your estate once all your other gifts have been distributed (known as a Residuary Legacy). Once you have considered your family and friends, leaving just 5% of your estate can make a big difference.

Locally we have a long tradition of charitable bequests, from the earliest surviving wills of the 1500s and 1600s.  A significant early will was that of William Berersford who died in 1699: he charged certain lands with the payment of £10 per annum to the minister of Parwich chapel, £10 per annum for the poor and £3 per annum for the education of poor children.  This along with other bequests led to the creation of what is now the Parwich United Charities.

Other registered charities operating in our area include Stepping Stones Pre-School, Parwich Women’s Institute and Parwich Memorial Hall.