By writing a Will, you can make sure your money, property and possessions are shared out according to your wishes. If you have dependents, you can also make decisions about their future. Steph, 34, recently wrote her Will.
‘I’m part of the Fundraising team at the hospice and have been involved with a few of the Make a Will month promotions. I hadn’t thought about writing a Will before – I assumed it was something I’d do later in life – but through my work I learnt if I didn’t have one in place, our home and savings might not be shared out as I’d like. The thing that finally inspired me to write a Will, however, was learning that should something happen to me and my husband, Ben, the care of our three beautiful boys: Joshua, 5, Henry, 3 and Oliver, 8 months, would be organised by social services. I couldn’t bear the thought of somebody who didn’t know them deciding their future.’
‘Ben and I wrote a joint Will through the Make a Will month scheme; it’s a service where local solicitors kindly waive their fees; you simply donate a suggested amount to the hospice in return for their expert support. Our appointment took half an hour; we’d already been given a list of things to think about and shared our wishes. We elected two guardians – people we love and trust – for our boys, who, in a worst-case scenario, have agreed to take responsibility and make any decisions surrounding their future care. We’ve also made provisions for our pet tortoise, Shelley, as she’s likely to outlive us even if we make it to our nineties! Ben and I feel so reassured to have this all in place.’
‘Writing a Will can sound daunting but it’s very simple; the process from initial enquiry to having the document
completed and safe at home took 3-4 weeks. If you have property, savings or little ones, I couldn’t recommend it more.’
