Make a free will in October

October is Free Wills Month. Here's how you can benefit and have your will written without paying the legal costs.

Making a will is never going to be a fun task, but it’s something we all need to do. And if you're aged 55 or over you can get one written for free courtesy of Free Wills Month.

This initiative, which takes place every March and October, is co-ordinated by a group of charities including the British Heart Foundation, Age UK and the RNLI.

Throughout the month you can make an appointment to get a will written without paying the solicitors’ fees. In return you will be asked to make a voluntary donation to one of the charities involved in the scheme.

Note that this applies to ‘simple’ wills, so if you’ve got a complicated case you may be asked to pay some money towards this. Also the scheme only applies to those living in England and Wales.

You can search for participating local solicitors and book an appointment to get your will written on the Free Wills Month website.

Other will-writing schemes

There are a few other schemes in place throughout the year to try to boost the numbers of people getting wills written.

In November there's Will Aid, which works in a similar way to Free Wills Month. It’s organised by solicitors across the country and they will provide free legal advice and help in writing a will in return for a charity donation.

There's also ‘Write and Register a Will Week’ which is organised by the website Unbiased.co.uk and Certainty.co.uk, the National Will Register. Throughout this week it’s possible to get a Will written without having to pay the registration charge of £30. This year's week was in September but keep an eye out for next year's date.

If you have a particular charity in mind that you’d like to leave a gift to, it’s worth checking if they run a scheme of their own.

Cancer Research UK, for example, offers a Free Will Service for over-55s in the hope of a bequest. Meanwhile The Children’s Hospital Charity offers a discounted will-writing service in conjunction with national law firm, Irwin Mitchell.

Around 50 charities are part of the National Free Wills Network, a scheme that allows supporters to make a free will with participating solicitors across the UK. These are normally reserved for members or those that have made donations in the past that are over 55.

Charities part of the network include Amnesty International, Alzheimers Research UK, British Academy, Children with Cancer, Dignity in Dying, Guide Dogs, Independent Age, Liberty 80, Oxfam, Royal Voluntary Service, Shelter, Soil Association and Tenovus Cancer Care.

Why you need a will

Making a will gives you the power to decide what happens to your estate when you die. This includes all the wealth you’ve built up in your lifetime, such as your home, and also gives you the chance to minimise the amount of Inheritance Tax you'll have to pay.

But many people put off writing a will because of the amount of paperwork and the cost involved. The most recent figures from Co-operative Legal Services estimates 60% of UK adults don't have one.

The normal cost of writing a basic will with a solicitor according to the Money Advice Service is around £100 to £200 for a single person or from £150 to £300 for a pair of mirror wills for a couple.

If you die without making a will, or ‘intestate’, you won’t have a say over where your money goes. This is especially important if you have dependents, such as children under the age of 18 or a partner you’re not married to.

The will also needs to be valid and up-to-date for it to make any difference once you’ve died. It should be renewed every five years or when something significant changes in your life.

It’s also a good way to take the burden off your family members after you die. Partners in unmarried couples, for example, won’t be automatically eligible for any shared wealth if there is no will set up.

Although most people go through a solicitor to write a will, it is possible to do this on your own. You can buy DIY kits online or in shops such as WHSmith but this is only recommended if your personal situation is pretty straightforward. If you go down this route and make a mistake, the will could be invalid.

Our guide Making a will has more information on the options.

Make a digital copy of your will and other vital financial documents with our new Plans service

This is a classic lovemoney article that has been updated

Interested in your financial future? Read these next:

How to get a State Pension forecast

How to cut your Inheritance Tax bill

What happens to your money after you die?

How to work out how much you need to save for retirement