Legacies are a wonderfully painless way of giving; having pledged a gift you wake up the next morning to find your bank balance has not changed. Around 1 billion pounds reaches charities though legacies. Even so only one in seven people, who make a Will, leave a charitable bequest.
There are various moments in our lives when we really ought to consider making, or changing, our Will; marriage, becoming a parent, divorce, retirement, becoming a grandparent, death of a spouse or partner, when inheriting money or winning the national lottery. How many people, for example, think about making, or changing when they have their first child (to appoint guardians, otherwise the child could go into care should both parents die).
What (more controversially) about the fact that making or changing your will increases your life expectancy. According to research on average you die 4.1 years after your last will change. Review your Will every 4 years and you can live forever.
If that does not convince you, then consider this, the average age of those at death of those dying intestate is 69, of those dying testate it is 79, but of those testate and leaving a charity bequest it is 82.
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