Peace of mind with the trust of our local solicitors

It’s a great feeling isn’t it when you get a job out of the way that you have been meaning to get around to finishing off.  That extra time on your hands means that you can focus on other things, perhaps planning a family holiday or turning your attention to a spot of gardening as the weather slowly improves.

I was glad that “my boys” took the opportunity to take advantage of the Will month campaign here at the Hospice and were able to access a wealth of knowledge which our local Solicitors were able to offer them.

I have worked most of my life in the charity sector, hopefully raising awareness for the need for Legacy giving but more importantly the need to ensure how important it is that every adult should have an up to date Will.

Anyone can write a Will; in theory it does sound like a simple proposition, there are even forms available on line to down load.  Very often though, individuals who seek the DIY approach can often create terrible problems for their family after their death.  Some mistakes are so simple to make; failure to sign the document in front of witnesses, changing your name through marriage, adopting a child, altering the wording which could result in an invalid codicil, all these changes can impact your Last Will and Testament.

Coping with the loss of a loved one is indeed hard enough but trying to pick your way through the legal minefield after you are gone can leave your family extremely exhausted.  I know there are a companies world wide whose sole business revolves around sorting out the validity of DIY Wills, all too often mistakes have been made which prevent the estate from being distributed in accordance with the deceased’s wishes.  Appointing a Solicitor, qualified to deal with all matters of probate, regulated by the Law Society and governed by statutes, will make estate distribution so much easier, ensuring that those closest to you are looked after as quickly and as easily as possible.

The Douglas Macmillan Hospice has the support of many local solicitors who not only take part in fundraising events but are also able to support the work I do here at the Hospice through our Will promotions, this year throughout the whole month of May.  I am indeed truly grateful to them all for their loyalty and advice to the Hospice and its supporters.  I could not run our successful Will campaign without their help.

Judith

Local Solicitors work wonders for us

As we are coming to the end of Will month I thought it would be a good opportunity to take a moment to thank all of our local solicitors, their trainees and support staff for helping us with another successful Will writing campaign.  I have been overwhelmed by the loyalty of all our local solicitors who have been flexible over the month to accommodate all of our supporters who have wanted to take up the offer to update and write their Will.

This year has been one of our most successful, we have sent out over 325 Will packs to people who have enquired about Will month.  Slowly we are raising awareness in the local community of the importance of writing a Will and keeping it up to date because as I always say you never know when something will change your life!

Over the years I have visited all of our local Solicitors many times, to thank them for the help they give to us, they know me well and the work I do here at the Hospice. Some national charities pay their Solicitors to run a Will campaign, some charities insist the supporter must be over 55.  I believe that anyone over the age of 18 should be entitled to take part in our Dougie Mac Will campaign; age should not be a barrier.  We cannot pay our local Solicitors to help us with our Will Week – or this year Will Month;  we simply could not afford to run it that way.  I never take it for granted either that they will support us the following year; the current economic times are difficult for all of us and our Solicitors haven’t escaped the recession either, but they are always eager to help us each year, sometimes they can only offer us a couple of appointments sometimes they can set aside a whole week or perhaps more.  Whatever help they can offer I am grateful for because quite simply, without their help I couldn’t run a Will campaign and without a Will campaign I couldn’t encourage people to leave a gift in their Will to the Dougie Mac.  Without gifts in Wills our future may not be so bright and every year I hope to be able to help to secure the future of the Hospice for the next generation who may need us.  So, thank you to all of our Solicitors, trainees, support staff, all of our enquirers and everyone who has put up posters and distributed leaflets to raise awareness of the Dougie Mac Will month this year.

I am so encouraged by the success of 2013 that I am already starting to plan for 2014 – anyone interested in putting up posters for us next year or distributing information please get in touch with me.

Here’s to 2014!!

Judith

Hacking Ashton Support Will Month

Hacking Ashton LLP Solicitors are very proud to have been long standing supporters of the Douglas Macmillan Hospice.

Our local offices throughout Staffordshire regularly support their Will promotions.

We have been able to assist many of their supporters with making Wills, which in turn has helped to raise much needed funds to allow the hospice to continue with the wonderful work and support it provides for patients and their family at the most difficult times.

Members of our staff often take part in golf days and attend events at the hospice, which helps raise awareness of the work the hospice carries out, whilst at the same time hopefully contributing to fund raising.

May mother’s force be with you boys!

 

I took advantage of my own advice this month and had my Will updated.  It hasn’t changed much but I wanted to ensure that we were being as tax efficient as possible!  I also persuaded my children, although they are not children anymore, to sit down and discuss one of the most important jobs they can do as a parent – to ensure their children are looked after should the unthinkable happen.  Both “the boys” are so busy living in the present that they hadn’t thought about securing the future for their own families.

Many parents think the process of making a Will is expensive and complicated so they often put off making complicated decisions until later in their life and sometimes loved ones can suffer as a result.  Once you have children there is a lot to think about and the task of providing for their care, should you no longer be around, can seem quite onerous and upsetting.  As a grandparent too I want to ensure that my grandchildren will be looked after if something, Heaven forbid, did happen and both Colin, my husband, and I want that peace of mind too.  So armed with my Will packs and my enormous powers of persuasion I asked them if they had taken advantage of the “Dougie Mac Make A Will Month” and had they also remembered their favourite charity too!

Judith

 

Will Month Has Begun!

As part of the 40^th Anniversary celebrations Douglas Macmillan Hospice has teamed up with over 40 local solicitors, located  across North Staffordshire, for  ‘Make A Will Month’ throughout May for anyone who needs to write or update their Will.

In previous years local solicitors have offered their services to the Hospice for one week during May but, to show additional support during this special anniversary year, they have extended their offer for the entire month of May.   They will not charge for their services during this promotion but ask that, if possible, a donation be made to the Charity in lieu of their fees.

More than half of the current UK population haven’t written a basic Will meaning that their estate may not necessarily be distributed as they had assumed.

Writing a Will ensures that family and loved ones are provided for in the event of death.   The Douglas Macmillan Hospice would like anyone who is taking advantage of the free Will writing service to consider leaving a gift to the Hospice so that vital services can continue in the future, once family and friends have been looked after.

If you are interested in taking advantage of this offer please contact Judith Bell by calling 01782 344308 or email judithbell@dmhospice.org.uk. A full information pack, including a list of participating solicitors and an entitlement voucher which is valid until 31^st May 2013 will be sent upon request.

OUCH!

I’ve put my back out! Not doing anything exciting mind – just moving furniture around and climbing up and down steps doing the annual spring clean!!

Our shredder has also been busy as we go through our files – throwing out old receipts  for goods we no longer have!

We also check our house and car insurance policies are up to date.

What a lovely feeling when its all tidy and up to date!!

If your spring cleaning is part of a house move, you need to  check your Will is up to date, or – horror – if you haven’t written a Will yet, its time to get it sorted out.   Why not take advantage of Dougie Mac’s Make A Will Month in May when local Solicitors will write or update a Will free of charge – all they request is that, if possible,  you make a donation to the Hospice and consider leaving a gift in your Will.

If you’d like further info, do get in touch with me!

Judith

Phone:  01782-344308 or email: judithbell@dmhospice.org.uk

The Tichborne Tale!

A few years ago whilst on holiday with my family in Hampshire, I had a wonderful opportunity to meet up with a few locals in a village pub in Alresford!  During my visit I was told the enchanting story of  ‘The Tichborne Tale,’  a curious folk story dating back to the thirteenth century.

Lady Mabella Tichborne was a kind and generous lady, wealthy in her own right.   She cared a great deal for the poor and sick and was always donating food to the needy.  Her husband, Sir Roger was a miserly man and wasn’t supportive of his wife’s generosity at all.

Unfortunately,  800 years ago it was custom that once a woman married she had to give all her possessions to her husband.  Suffering from a wasting disease which had left her crippled, Lady Mabella asked her husband to continue to donate food to the poor once a year, a legacy which would live on after she had gone.  Sir Roger was reluctant, but agreed on the condition that she left her deathbed,  and crawled around his land holding a torch.

If she was successful, he would agree to her wish to give the produce from the land she crawled over to the poor in perpetuity.   Lady Mabella, although sick and dying, rose to the challenge and managed to crawl around a twenty three acre field which is still called ‘The Crawls’ today.

Each year on 25^th March, Tichborne House distributes bread in the tradition of the ‘Tichborne Dole’

Back then, Lady Mabella had no choice how her estate was distributed.  Thankfully today we can make a legal declaration by making a Last Will and Testament, incorporating perhaps a ‘letter of wishes’ to ensure the smooth transfer of our estate to our family, friends or causes close to our heart.

Judith

Why not take advantage of the Dougie Mac Make a Will Month where we have over 40 Solicitors taking part in our Will campaign.  Email judithbell@dmhospice.org.uk for details.

Will You Love Your Local Hospice this Valentines?

Traditionally February is the month when we celebrate our affection for someone we love by sending them a Valentine card or, if it is a Leap Year, ladies can ask for the hand of a handsome man in marriage!!

So, with February being the month we think about Love and Marriage then we must also be thinking about our future and our plans for the future.

Once you are married or enter into a Civil Partnership your ‘Next of Kin’ will change and any possessions you own may be dealt with differently in the eyes of the law.

Change in circumstance is often a good time to make or update your Will but when you have made provision for your family and friends would you think about leaving a gift for the your local Hospice too?

Look out for our Will Month promotion in May.

New Year – New Resolutions?

Do any of these look familiar?

 

• Join a gym to get fitter?
• Lose a stone in weight ?
• Make more time for ‘me’ – join a Choir, Zumba class or yoga ?

 

With the start of the New Year people often say to me that one of their resolutions will be to make their Will.   This is music to my ears as I have heard so many stories about people who have passed away without making a Will – consequently leaving their friends and relatives with the onerous task of dealing with the Estate.

Britain is ranked 8^th in the World Giving index with around three quarters of us donating to Charity each year.   However, figures suggest that only a quarter of higher rate tax payers donate to charity compared with almost everyone in the United States.   These are interesting figures but not all of us are higher rate tax payers!

Charities, large and small, plan their future work around Legacy income and Legacy giving and are always grateful for gifts in Wills however large or small.

Here at Dougie Mac, especially in the Legacy Department, we often talk about the importance of making a Will and – more importantly – keeping it up to date.   Our professional network of Solicitors help us each year by offering their basic Will writing services to our supporters in return for a donation, a gift in the Will, or both, to the Hospice.

The sensitive and sometimes complex nature of estate planning needs to rely on the professional skills of regulated Solicitors.   Making appointments and taking time to think about how your estate should be left ensures that your Will is drawn up and executed in line with your wishes.

To request your Legacy pack click HERE

 

 

 

Legators Afternoon Tea

Legacy contacts were invited to Dougie Mac recently by the Legacy team and over 50 supporters accepted an invitation to visit the Hospice to hear about the work currently being undertaken both on the site and in the community.

 

Comments received included:

“The afternoon was interesting and enlightening!”

“We were surprised at the number of aspects of care which come under the Dougie Mac umbrella.”

“We would like to help by volunteering.”

“I’m looking forward to the next Presentation.”

“You inspired me and my friend to raise some funds locally for the Hospice.”

“Having so many family and friends receiving or having received your care I know that without you our community would be at a loss – thank you!”

“The whole afternoon was very good and helpful.”

 

In view of the very positive reception this inaugural event received, we hope to hold another Event next year, during the summer months.

Judith Bell, Legacy Officer would like to extend her thanks to everyone attended.