Charity Will Scheme – 2017
April is the start of spring, the yellow, white and blue spring flowers bring cheer and we will hopefully enjoy some sunshine after the long dark days of winter. It is a time of new beginnings. Part of the spring calendar is the Woodlands Hospice Charity Will Scheme. It’s brilliant because people can make a Will with a solicitor or Will writer and not pay the usual charge and instead make a donation to the Hospice. The level of the donation is up to the person making the will although the suggested donation is £65 for a single Will and £120 for mirror Wills.
Most of us know that it is very important to make a Will so that our loved ones are protected and our wishes are carried out after we have died, yet it can be very difficult to actually take positive action and make the all-important Will. The result is that most of us die without having made legal arrangements to decide our funeral arrangements, who deals with finances, who looks after our minor children and who actually benefits from our estate. The result can be chaotic and distressing for those we leave to grieve.
The difficulties are increasingly common because more and more couples live together without any legal framework and protection afforded by marriage or civil partnership. Always remember that there is no such thing as a common law marriage and the cohabiting partner does not have the protection provided to a lawful spouse or civil partner.
In a Will, people can appoint guardians who would have physical care of minor orphaned children and this will protect the children and avoid them being taken into Local Authority care. Trustees can be appointed who will look after the money for children until they come of age – 18 or 21. Gifts of items such as jewellery and gifts of money can be included, along with gifts to charity, and leave whatever is left to a person or shared between a number of people.
The important step to take is to start the ball rolling and what better way to do it than using the Woodlands Charity Will Scheme this April. Once a Will has been written in accordance with the person’s wishes and then executed, they will have peace of mind knowing that their wishes will be followed and loved ones protected.
The scheme is very popular and we are usually inundated with requests for appointments confirming that this is a valuable service that we are able to provide.
For further details please visit our Will page or contact Alan Kelly at the Hospice on 0151 529 8152 or e-mail: alan.kelly@aintree.nhs.uk