Make a Will Month: April 2023

Wirral Hospice St John’s continues to provide its nursing care and specialist support services, free of charge, to patients whose illnesses have progressed beyond a cure, alongside appropriate support for their loved ones too.

It costs more than £5million each year to run the hospice and this is only possible through the ongoing support of our whole Wirral community, individuals, businesses and other organisations, who continue to support the hospice in so many ways.

The legal firms who partner the hospice in Make a Will Month offer their valuable time and waive normal fees for their Will-writing services. At a significant discount to the normal cost, they ask people for a suggested, and kind, donation of just £90 for a single Will or £150 for a double Will which goes directly to our local adult hospice.

Peace of Mind in the future through Make a Will Month

Each April, a host of Wirral solicitors’ partner with Wirral Hospice St John’s to offer people the chance to make a new Will, or revise their old one

Make a Will Month offers people the security of knowing that all of their assets will go exactly where they wish them to when they’re no longer around.

Appointments fill up really quickly, so an early booking is strongly advised and supporters are encouraged to contact the solicitors in March to make their booking for April and to quote Wirral Hospice St John’s Make a Will Month when booking a consultation.

When making a booking, the solicitor will take some outline details and then send out an initial form for to fill in so that the main issues to be addressed in the Will are covered.

Why Make A Will?

It’s natural for people to believe there’s plenty of time before they have to take this important step, but experience tells us that it’s never too early. If a Will is not officially drawn up then yassets may be subject to processes under the law which may have negative repercussions for loved ones for many years.

There may already be a Will in place but major changes can happen in life, including marriage, divorce, having children or even the death of a loved one, which can potentially invalidate some, or all, of a current Will.

Unmarried partners or those who have not registered a civil partnership cannot inherit from each other unless there is a Will in place. Homeowners and people with dependent children are especially encouraged to have an up-to-date Will.

Legacies

Legacies have become a significant part of hospice income and, although amounts greatly vary according to people’s circumstances, Wirral Hospice St John’s is extremely grateful when people choose to leave a gift of any size.

Anything that is left to charity is not counted towards the total taxable value of your estate and if you leave at least 10% of your ‘net estate’ to a charity it can cut inheritance tax from 40% to 36% where that may be applicable.

There are different ways of leaving a gift in your Will;

Residual legacy: A gift of the remainder or share of your estate, after all other gifts are given and debts cleared

Pecuniary legacy: A gift of a fixed sum of money

Specific legacy: A gift of a particular named item such as jewellery, a painting, a car or such like

Please do note that if you further choose to leave something to the hospice, or any other charity, in your will it is totally for your discretion and completely confidential between you and your solicitor.

Julia Evans who organises Make a Will Month for the hospice says,

“Making a Will is really easy to do even though it is something that people sometimes put off doing.  Me and my husband made ours a couple of years ago and the process was really simple.  The solicitor sent out all of the information including a form to fill in at home.  The most difficult part is having those conversations with your loved ones but once you have sorted out your Will you can really relax knowing that your wishes are taken care of.”

To find out more information please contact Julia Evans at Wirral Hospice St John’s in the following ways;

Call: 0151 343 0778 or Email: juliae@wirralhospice.org 

Or, to see a list of the legal organisations offering the service this April, in partnership with the hospice, visit www.wirralhospice.org/makeawillmonth