September is Make a Will Month

01 Sep 30 Sep

Participating solicitors

Monday 01 Sep 25 - Tuesday 30 Sep 25 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Make a Will Month

Join our Make a Will Month campaign to safeguard your family’s future with a first Will or an updated Will and help support Francis House Children’s Hospice.

During the month of September, you can have a Will written by solicitors partnering in our Make a Will Month scheme.

How Make a Will Month Works

During Make a Will Month, our partner North West law firms give their time to you free of charge to draw up a simple Will or amend an existing Will in return for a suggested donation to Francis House of:

£100 for an individual Will or
£175 for a double Will for married couples or partners.

The Will Month enables you to get the Will you need for less than you would usually pay for the services of a specialist Will lawyer, and your kind Will donations allow Francis House to provide the very best care to the children, young people and their families.

Since we launched Make a Will Month, the Hospice has received over £6,000 in donations for Wills completed by our partner law firms. When Hospice money is tight, donations from events such as Make a Will Month allow us to go that bit further.

To you, it is a donation of £100 for a Will in lieu of legal fees, but to Francis House, that £100 can help fund the salary of a play therapist whose vital role is to bring a smile to a child needing Hospice support and help create lasting memories for siblings.

Making a Will Month is the ideal opportunity to make or update your Will.

This represents a substantial saving on the standard fees for the service!

How to Take Part in Make a Will Month

It’s simple, if you need a first Will or a new Will, all you need to do is:

Register with us via the form below or contact one of our panel solicitors directly.
Make an appointment to see your chosen Will solicitor during September.
Complete your Will.
Make your donation to Francis House by selecting ‘General donation’ and choosing ‘Make a Will Month’ from the drop down prompt on our Donation page.

Your donation to Francis House can be made at any point in the Will-making process.

Participating Solicitors in Make a Will Month

Solicitors address	Contact and telephone number	Website
Glaisyers ETL, 3, Hardman Street, Manchester, M3 3HF	Chris Burrows, Head of Private Client Team on 0161 832 4666	www.glaisyers.com
AST Hampsons. Unit B1, Waterfold Park, Bury BL9 7BR and offices in Rochdale	Louise Salisbury, Head of Wills, Probate and Trusts, in Bury on 0161 763 1000. Alternatively, Yasmin Sadiq’s team in Rochdale on 01706 653322	www.asthampsons.co.uk
Bromleys. 50 Wellington Road, Ashton Under Lyne, OL6 6XL	Chris Eaton, Solicitor on 0161 694 5751	www.bromleys.co.uk
Hargreaves Gilman, 512 Kingsway, Didsbury, Manchester, M19 1WW	Deborah Millington, Head of Private Client Team on 0161 443 1711	www.hargreavesgilman.com
Wrigley Claydon, 29-33, Union Street, Oldham, OL1 1HH	Rachel Damianou Head of Wills, Probate, Trusts & Powers of Attorney on 0161 624 6811	www.wrigleyclaydon.com

Donating for Make a Will Month

We try to make the Will donation process as simple as possible.

You can donate at any stage of the Will-writing process by calling 0161 443 2200 and asking for a member of our finance team or via our Donation page.

Legacies and Make a Will Month

If you support Francis House by participating in Make a Will Month there is no obligation on you to leave a gift to Francis House in your new Will, but if you choose to do so, any bequest will be gratefully received and, as Francis House Children’s Hospice is a registered charity, it may be inheritance tax efficient to leave a gift or a share of your estate to the Hospice or to charity.

Our specialist partner Will solicitors can explain the inheritance tax rules and how charitable gifting works to reduce the amount your estate pays in tax.

After advice, many Will makers choose to leave a gift or a small percentage of their estate to charity, after their family and loved ones have been provided for, in the knowledge that a gift of whatever size creates a legacy of hope for the Hospice, does not affect the Will maker’s current financial commitments and may be inheritance tax efficient.

Why our Partnering Solicitors Participate in Make a Will Month

"Supporting Francis House through Make a Will Month allows us to make a meaningful difference to families facing incredibly difficult circumstances. By offering our expertise, we hope to encourage more people to consider making or updating their Will while also helping to secure the future of such an essential charity."
Chris Burrows, the Head of Private Client Services at Glaisyers Solicitors

"At Bromleys, we have a real focus on Making a Positive Difference, and supporting Francis House through Make a Will Month allows us to ensure this is continued. We hope to have a real impact both in helping people set their affairs in order with their Will, but also to support Francis House who do fantastic work supporting families going through difficult circumstances."
Chris Eaton, Solicitor at Bromleys

Frequently Asked Questions on Wills

Why should I make a Will?

We owe it to those we love to ensure that they are properly provided for with a Will. If you have life insurance or mortgage protection to protect your family, it’s just as important to have a Will that carefully balances your estate and loved ones’ needs rather than relying on the intestacy rules to achieve a fair distribution of your estate in the manner that you would have chosen had you made a Will.

Making a Will is all about caring for your family, and that’s why Make a Will Month aligns with Francis House’s values.

Do I need to update my Will?

When you make a Will, it needs to be reviewed every few years to check to see if changes are needed because of a change in your personal or financial circumstances or those of your family members who will be inheriting a share of your estate.

A Will solicitor can explain why your Will needs updating if you have married after making a Will, started living with a partner, bought a house, had children, separated or divorced, had a significant change in assets or wealth, such as an inheritance or the sale of a business, retired, become a grandparent, or if your executors’ or beneficiaries’ circumstances have changed.

Keeping your Will up to date protects your loved ones and gives you the opportunity to estate plan.

Make a Will Month in September is the perfect time to make or update your Will to ensure that your money and possessions are distributed in accordance with your wishes.

What should my Will include?

What you say in your Will is entirely up to you. A Will solicitor can explain the importance of choosing executors, trustees and testamentary guardians for dependent children with care and advise on the types of gifts that can be made in your Will, such as gifts of specific items, gifts of specific amounts of money, substitute gifts, gifts to classes of beneficiaries, such as your children, and advise on your options on how to structure sharing your residuary estate to family, friend or charities.

Why is a gift to charity in a Will tax-efficient?

Leaving a gift to charity in your Will can make a massive difference to your chosen charity and can also be tax-efficient, as gifts left to registered charities are exempt from inheritance tax.

Under current inheritance tax rules, if you leave at least 10% of your estate to charity, the rate of IHT applied to the remainder of your estate is reduced. A Will solicitor can provide you with expert advice on estate planning.

What is a simple Will?

Our Make a Will Month participating solicitors can write a simple Will for you as part of the event. If you need a non-simple Will or complex estate planning, they can explain what you need and provide a quote for their services outside of the Make a Will Month event.

A simple Will normally makes straightforward gifts to family, friends and charity in your Will but does not involve complex arrangements such as trusts, lifetime interests, business assets, overseas property, or complicated financial structures. A simple Will typically leaves an estate to a spouse, or partner or equally between their children, or a Will maker can choose to leave a gift or a share of their estate to a charity.

Why Should I use Will Month to Make my Will?

We think Will Month participant Mrs Graham sums up why you should consider using Will Month at Francis House to make your Will. She says, “I received an excellent and highly professional service when writing my Will under the Francis House ‘Make a Will Month’ initiative. It gave me peace of mind knowing that I’d put all the necessary measures in place to protect my family, and provided me with a great opportunity to support Francis House Children’s Hospice at the same time.”

By making a Will Month donation instead of paying a Will solicitor for writing your Will or leaving a gift to Francis House in your Will, you are making a gift and/or leaving a legacy that stands as a lasting reminder of your generosity and care by helping to ensure we continue to meet the needs of future generations of life-limited children, young people and their families.