BLJ Will Month
We were surprised to learn from recent surveys that 54% of UK adults don’t have a will in place, with most people stating that they just haven’t gotten around to it. With this in mind, we are excited to announce that this month, BLJ has teamed up with Woodlands Hospice for their Will Campaign. Along with several other firms, we will be offering our will writing services and waiving our usual fees in lieu of a donation to the hospice.
Woodlands Hospice is a fantastic charity that provides specialist palliative care for people with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses and support services for patients, carers and family members covering North Liverpool, South Sefton, Kirkby and Knowsley.
After meeting with Carole Riley, Woodlands’ Individual Giving Manager last month, Jannina Barker, BLJ’s head of Wills and Probate, said “We hope that by contributing to ‘Wills Month’ we can raise a significant sum towards supporting the hospice and at the same time, offer individuals and families some peace of mind and reassurance through the creation of a will”.
Our managing partner Mike Leeman also commented saying: “We’re delighted to work alongside our colleagues in the legal field to offer this service and raise awareness of the charity whilst also reinstating just how important it is to have a will, despite the majority of the UK not having one.”
There’s a lot of misconceptions surrounding wills, with many assuming its not something they have to consider until much later in life, but it’s actually never too early to think about it and whilst there are DIY/Will Writing services available, its important to get your will done professionally.
According to Jannina, advice should be sought as wills can be more complicated than initially thought and the language used can affect the eventual distribution of the estate. Without professional guidance mistakes are easily made and they can be very costly to rectify, especially once someone has passed away.
Using a Lawyer to prepare your will means that these issues can be addressed during the will writing process and advice and guidance can be given on points that may have never be considered, with client’s often commenting that they hadn’t considered a number of important factors raised at our initial meetings. After all, when you have assets that you’ve worked hard for during your lifetime, why risk your last wishes not being upheld by not seeking professional advice?
If you would like to learn more about Woodland’s Will Campaign and write or update your will, visit www.woodlandshospice.org/wills.
