If you’re aged 55+ and you have yet to make a will, you can get one written for free (usually £150) this October.
It’s part of Free Wills Month where solicitors donate their time and expertise to write free wills for those who need them.
In exchange, people are asked to donate to a list of selected charities. These include The Stroke Association, Age UK, the RNLI, Marie Curie, and The Salvation Army.
However, there is no obligation for those who use the free service to leave a lasting legacy to charity, but the organisers do say “we earnestly hope that many will see this as a chance to help their favourite cause”.
It added that most of the charities included depend on legacies for up to half of their overall income.
The scheme runs every March and October and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Therefore, if the free appointments run out, the scheme may close before the end of the month.
As well as the charitable cause, Free Wills Month is designed to encourage more people to write a will.
It comes as latest figures from will-writing charity Will Aid revealed 59% of adults do not have a will in place. This is up from 54% recorded in 2022 and 49% in 2021.
Just 29% of the 2,200 people asked by Will Aid said they had an up-to-date will in place.
One of the major reasons given for not having a will was the costs involved while many people said they were reluctant to think about death and end-of-life planning.
How to get a free will this October
To sign up, you need to go to the Free Wills Month website and enter your contact details and postcode. You’ll then be shown a list of charities working in your area and you’ll be asked to choose one to donate to (although this isn’t mandatory).
Then you’ll be given a list of solicitors who are working with the scheme who you can contact to make an appointment.
There are 300 solicitors signed up to this month’s scheme across 45 different areas. If you aren’t able to find one, you may do in March when it runs again across different locations.
The cost of a standard will is usually around £150 so there is a large potential saving for those who take part in the scheme. While you must be 55 or older, if mirror wills are being written – the same for two people in a couple – just one member needs to have reached this age.
It’s important to remember that this free service is for simple wills. If you have complicated finances or wishes – such as if there are lots of different family members and assets – you may be required to pay for the service.
If you do miss out in October, there is also a similar campaign running in November by Will Aid, with appointments already open.
