Willingly Writing Wills

This is the last post coming out of our *cosmic Mortal Portal* [not a euphemism] for the rest of the summer.

KV and I (Lindsey Vigurs, LV to you) will be spending time with our children and family members during the school holidays. KV is coming to look after my cats and chickens in Cheshire for a week with her youngest child (The Figlet) and our mum, MV. I’m hoping she will have chance to meet up with a couple of the Macclesfield Death Crew while I’m away in Wales communing with my Celtic ancestors.

(Alas, according to my Ancestry DNA results, I am disappointingly unWelsh (2%), and much more German (9%).

We will never ever EVERRRR stop inviting you to make your last will and testament.

It’s never too early to put one in place. And we absolutely promise that writing one isn’t some kind of jinx that will cause your premature demise.

A will is simply a legal document that sets out what you want to happen to your ‘stuff’ (money, possessions, property, children, pets, plants) after your death. It also states who you want to manage ‘your estate’ (AKA your wild collection of stuff) during probate (this is a legal process that sees your final wishes - as written in your will - carried out after you have died). And importantly, a will also allows you to appoint legal guardians for your children (if they are under 18) as well as for your pets.

If you die without a will, your assets (stuff) may not necessarily be passed on as you'd have liked – or to those who need it most. If you live in England and you are married or in a civil partnership, and you die without a will, your legal partner will inherit most of your estate. However, unmarried partners aren’t entitled to anything!

And if you die without a will and you have children under 18, the law does not automatically appoint guardians, which can create uncertainty about who will care for your wee ones. The courts may have to decide guardianship, which can lead to delays, disputes, or decisions that wouldn’t reflect your wishes.

Writing a will is one of the very best things you can do in your lifetime and it’s really a gift to the people who survive you. Even if you think you have few or no assets, or if you don’t have children or pets, it’s still REALLY important because, without a will, what happens to your worldly bits and bobs will all be decided by impersonal intestacy rules.

Look, loads of people haven’t got around to writing their wills, and maybe you’re one of them? The stats are something like 60% of people don’t have one, but in our work as DEAD GOOD we frequently see families divided, hurt and confused at a time when they are also deeply grieving, because there was no will in place. Making a will (and then keeping it updated) makes decisions quicker, clearer and actionable.

KV and I both have wills and we update them regularly. Changes in circumstances (getting divorced, the death of an appointed executor or guardian, moving house, etc) can affect the carrying out of our final wishes when we inevitably die ourselves. So we aim to review our wills once a year.

We are now in a position where we can recommend a small number of services to help you start, and complete, your personal will-writing journey.

Recommending trusted people is a big deal for us and part of our mission. We want to connect you with the information and services you need to get your house in order. We will only ever recommend people whom we use ourselves, people we know and trust.

For those of you who like an online system with easy automated step-by-stepping, I can personally recommend FAREWILL. I have been using them for about 5 years. Sign up through this link below and get 10% off your online will. You will also be supporting our work as we will earn a small donation from Farewill as a thank you. A simple online will for one person will cost you £90 (including the discount).

If you are more of a telephone-sorter-outer then you can also make a will over the phone with Farewill. This can be a useful option if your family has a more complicated or blended set up. Use the link below to chat through a phone will, and don’t forget to mention us! A telephone will for one person will cost £216 (including the discount).

Prices could increase or decrease depending on if you apply for yourself, or as part of a couple, or if you have particularly complicated situation.

If you are someone who prefers to talk things through, or meeting face-to-face in person, then we love to recommend Helen Morrell. An individual simple will with Helen starts at £250.

Helen can also support you through the process of setting up your Lasting Power of Attorney.

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that lets you choose someone you trust to make decisions for you if you become unable to do so yourself. Unlike a Will, which takes effect after you die, this helps manage your affairs while you're still alive but can't make decisions. Helen is a very safe pair of hands and, although her family business is based in the North East, she is happy to travel to visit clients around the UK or via video-call.

Mention DEAD GOOD when you contact Helen so she knows how you found her. If you go ahead with Helen then she will make a donation to DEAD GOOD as a thank you.

We will be adding resources and recommendations to our website from September as we are asked for these things often. In our two years of DEAD GOODing, we have collected a lovely set of kindred spirits and we look forward to sharing them with you.

But only for now. See you again in September. *Plugs in for cryosleep*

LOVE YOU BYE