Free Will: November's WillAid Month

LizEstelle

You can get an off-the-shelf will writing kit from WHS for peanuts.

The charitable aspect aside, as a money saver, the last people in the world I'd approach with a view to the tightening of my purse would be legal hacks.

mrs_baggins

just spoke to 2 solicitors who are doing it. this charge is for a 'simple will' and when i asked what this means basically they said that if you have an estate over 300k there would be inheritance tax concerns so the price then goes up to a whopping£700 !!! my house is probably just worth that and with other issues will not get it under the free donation will aid. worth a try though

Eck

Its all a big con people, rip off Britain at its best.

Mecoconuts

Eck wrote:

Its all a big con people, rip off Britain at its best.

I agree ! My mother just called her nearest Solicitor to ask about 2 wills.

They said the minimum donation is £100 each. They basically said the asking price by any Solicitor will be the donation and is non-negiotiable.

Looks like Willaid just lost out on another £50 x 2 donations then.

Also what proof do you get that these Solictors are actually donating this money ?

Sounds like a scam too me !

scorour

Mecoconuts wrote:

Also what proof do you get that these Solictors are actually donating this money ?

Sounds like a scam too me !

You make the chq payable to WillAid, but does not alter the fact it is a scam....never heard such a thing as forcing a charitable contribution, does it not go against the whole idea of charity?

I was willing to make a good donation, I was going to gauge it on the service I got from the solicitor, but defo not going to be forced to donate a set amount to charity!

scorour

FAQ number 9 from the WillAid website.....

9. Why is the suggested donation £75?
The donation is entirely at the discretion of the Will maker. We have suggested £75 to help overcome the possible embarrassment if the donor is uncertain what would be appropriate. We recognise the amount of time and skills that solicitors give to Will Aid free of charge and we hope that the suggested donation level goes some way to reflect that.



I like the possible embarrassment bit, no chance I would get embarrassed about saving money

willaid_press_officer

stashmycash wrote:

I am being quoted £150 plus vat i.e.£176.25 for 2.

The suggested donation for a pair of wills - where you each leave everything to each other - is £110


Official MoneySavingExpert.com Note: willaid press officer has permission to post to help answer questions.

willaid_press_officer

The suggested donations are there to reflect in some way the value of the solicitor's work - although depending on where you live, they may normally charge a lot more than this. The point is that they are working for free and you are making a donation to charity in exchange for their time and expertise.

scorour

willaid_press_officer wrote:

The suggested donations are there to reflect in some way the value of the solicitor's work - although depending on where you live, they may normally charge a lot more than this. The point is that they are working for free and you are making a donation to charity in exchange for their time and expertise.

Yes, but what about the FAQ 9...
The donation is entirely at the discretion of the Will maker!!

No discretion when I phoned, I was told I would have to pay the amounts they tell me.

willaid_press_officer

Tight_as_a_gnats_chuff wrote:

Does your receipt from Willaid show how much you have donated?????

Yes it does and you can gift aid it