Will power benefits you - and charities

Will power benefits you - and charities

Marc Antony knew a thing or two about human nature. As he said, with a little help from Shakespeare, in Julius Ceasar: "The evil that men do lives after them; but the good is oft interred with their bones."

Now, until the end of next month, some 2,000 solicitors are offering us a chance to make sure that the "good" will live on after we are gone. Instead of charging their normal fee for drawing up a basic will participating solicitors have agreed to waive their normal charges to support Will Aid, a fundraising campaign that supports leading UK charities. Rather, your solicitor will suggest a donation of £65 for a single will, £95 for a pair of wills or £35 for a codicil to an existing will.

The idea is to raise funds for the nine nominated charities that include the NSPCC the British Red Cross, Christian Aid, Help the Aged, Save the Children UK and Sight Savers International.

TV star Graham Norton, who is backing the Will Aid campaign, says: "None of us like to think about the Grim Reaper but eventually he calls on us all, and that's why everyone should have a proper will. It's the only way of ensuring that the people you love are provided for and that your hard earned assets don't go to some unpleasant distant relative or worse, the taxman.

"Cohabiting couples have precious few inheritance rights and if one partner dies without a will, the other may be left with nothing - not even the shared home. So in their case it is.....continued below

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doubly important to have a professionally drawn will. By making your will you are not only caring for your loved ones and making sure you don't leave them in the lurch, but you are also ensuring a better life for people who depend on the Will Aid charities."

A recent survey of nearly 34,000 adults aged between 25 and 64 showed that only 24% of people aged 25-44 have an up-to date will. Almost 50% of women and men aged 45-64 have not bothered to update their wills. Moreover among this age group, 64% of women and 72% of men are married and 79% are homeowners with over 50% of them having dependent children and/or stepchildren living at home.

With an eye on the civil partnership bill, Will Aid asked respondents for their views on changes to the law and how inheritance issues might be affected. The civil partnership bill creates a new legal status that would allow adult same-sex couples to gain formal recognition of their relationship.

The overwhelming response among the people polled by Will Aid is that all couples in long-term relationships should share the rights of married couples (72%) and 64% of those polled said that people should not have to marry to enjoy those rights.

Most cohabiting people know that their partner will not automatically inherit should they die without a will and yet only 22% of those living with a partner have an up-to-date will.

Even where couples are married, life after death for the surviving spouse is not that simple. Most married people assume that their spouse would inherit all their assets if they died without leaving a will.

In fact, there are limits on what husbands and wives can inherit from each other, depending on whether or not there are children and other surviving relatives. As things stand the surviving spouse may only inherit up to £125,000 in England and Wales and in some cases may have to sell the family home to pay off other relatives.