Many will be unaware that a special partnership exists between the legal profession and nine leading UK charities; having your Will written professionally can give you great peace of mind, and each November you can use a local solicitor who has signed up to Will Aid and enjoy the added feel-good factor of giving to charity.
The Will Aid scheme means that instead of paying your solicitor’s fee, you will be invited to make a donation to charity.The Will Aid charities are the British Red Cross, ActionAid, Age UK, Christian Aid, NSPCC, Save the Children, SCIAF, Sightsavers and Trocaire.
Since being founded in 1988, Will Aid has enabled legal firms to raise over £17 million for the charities. At the same time, the campaign has encouraged and helped many thousands of people to write their wills. This year, we hope to raise even more than last year’s total of over £1.1 million.
The British Red Cross helps people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are. We are part of a global voluntary network, responding to natural disasters, conflicts and individual emergencies. We enable vulnerable people in the UK and overseas to prepare for and respond to emergencies in their own communities, and when the crisis is over, we help people to recover and move on with their lives.
When writing a will, your first priority will of course be to provide for loved ones, but many people choose to also include a gift to a cause they feel passionate about. Leaving just 1% of your estate to the British Red Cross could make an enormous difference to people in crisis.
A gift in your will to the British Red Cross is a promise that help will be there for people in crisis, whatever the future may hold.
Please note that it is advisable to call your local solicitor soon to make an appointment as Will Aid is a popular service – just visit www.willaid.org.uk, call 0300 0309 558 or email [email protected] to find a solicitor near you.
