I don’t know what’s more depressing – the thought that one day I’ll no longer be alive, or that 19 minutes have passed without a single comment on my incredibly hilarious Facebook update.
Death. It’s the ten tonne elephant in the room.
Maybe it’s a cultural thing, but in the UK we seem terrified of creating a Will. Over half the adult population of the UK is without a Will, and this figure has been roughly the same for a number of years.
What are we afraid of? A jinx on our mortality?
Without a shadow of a doubt, creating a Will is the best way to gain peace of mind from knowing that you have protected your family and loved ones for the future.
During November 2012, at Thompsons Solicitors we’re offering a free Will writing service to everyone. We’re waiving our normal fee. Instead, to raise as much money as possible for Will Aid, we will ask clients to make a donation to its partner charities.
Will Aid helps thousands of people in need to gain the skills, tools and support they need to improve their lives.
So take the initiative. You can follow in the footsteps of people such as Alexander the Great, whose Will called for military expansion into the southern and western Mediterranean, monumental constructions, and the intermixing of Eastern and Western populations, or you could follow Charles Millar’s example.
Millar, a Canadian lawyer known for his practical jokes, left a Will with instructions that (1) three fervent anti horse-racing campaigners receive $25k worth of shares in a jockey club, (2) that three rival businessmen be granted joint lifetime tenancy in Mr Millar’s holiday home in Jamaica, and – strangest of all – that (3) the balance of Mr Millar's estate was to be given to the Toronto woman who gave birth to the most children in the 10 years following Millar’s death.
