Posted on 21st July 2009
Will Aid, a scheme that encourages people to write wills and donate money to charities instead of paying a solicitor’s fee, has raised more than £950,000, a 30% hike on the 2006 figure, the last time it was carried out.
Additionally, legacies totalling £5.4m have been pledged to Will Aid charities, including Save the Children and Christian Aid, by those who wrote wills through the scheme. Many will-makers will also have left legacies to other favourite causes.
Will Aid is run by a partnership of nine charities and recruits solicitors all over the UK who give their time for free to draw up basic wills. In return, the will-maker is invited to make a minimum donation to Will Aid (£75 for a single will, £110 for a pair of mirror wills and £40 for a codicil).
The month-long scheme will be running again this November. The Will Aid partnership urges as many charities as possible to promote the scheme to their supporters as a way of generating legacy income.
Shirley Marsland, Will Aid campaign manager, says, “Any charity can benefit from the scheme.” Although Will Aid donations are shared by the nine Will Aid charities people making wills as part of the scheme are free to make a legacy to any charity they choose.
For more details on Will Aid visit their website, email Shirley@willaid.org.uk or phone 01460 271178.
