Do you want to improve your legal firm’s profile and potentially gain additional business while helping change lives for the better?
In the 30th year of this special partnership, by signing up to Will Aid today, you too can be a part of their success, while creating a positive impact on your business.
Will Aid is a unique partnership between the devoted legal profession and nine of the UK’s best loved charities. Annually in November, participating solicitors waive their fee for writing a basic Will, instead, they invite clients to make a voluntary donation to Will Aid.
Since the creation of Will Aid in 1988, amazingly, over £20 million in donations has been raised to help the nine charities, with many millions more in charitable donations.
Not to diminish this astonishing achievement, Will Aid has also helped over 300,000 people make their Wills. We know discussing death is a taboo subject and a lot of people avoid difficult afterlife conversations with their family and friends.
Going forward this will go some way to highlight the importance of a Will and will continue to help to reduce the proportion of people that do not have a Will – Will Aid’s recent survey found that 53% of adults in the UK don’t have a Will in place.
We all lead busy working lives, so Will Aid have made it simple and easy to implement, there are no complicated procedures, administration, VAT and accounts to deal with – and Will Aid can give you as much support as you feel you need which includes:
- Freedom to take on as many or as few Will Aid clients as you choose.
- A supply of posters, leaflets and guidance to help promote your involvement in Will Aid.
- We are able to You can find resources and materials for participating solicitors here.
- FREE Will registration with Certainty, the National Will Register
Once you have decided to offer your services . Following the positive PR Will Aid offers, the first thing you should do is spread the word that you are taking part in this philanthropic service. You should contact your PR team or alternatively get in touch with Will Aid’s PR team on pr@willaid.org.uk. Plus, share your news on social media and connect with Will Aid on Facebook and @Will_Aid. The more you promote your involvement in Will Aid the more successful it will be and the more positive publicity you will receive.
Being organised is key. From September, potential Will Makers will be directed to your firm by the Will Aid website and hotline. Be prepared – share the ‘Will Aid Briefing Guide’ with the first point of contact for enquiries.
Before each client appointment
Whoever you have appointed as the first point of contact with a new Will Aid client, in person or on the phone, needs to:
- Explain how Will Aid works
- Tell the client about the suggested voluntary donation amounts
- Explain what a basic Will is
- Send them a Will planner, to give you a sense of their requirements (if you don’t have an in-house version, please download Will Aid’s from the website)
- If a client needs more than a basic Will, let them know what the additional charges will be, on top of their donation, and check they still want to go ahead
- Once you’ve agreed to take their instruction, invite them to make their voluntary donation on Will Aid’s website – this is the most efficient way for a client to donate (View Will Aid’s handling donations page about ‘payment dos and don’ts’)
During your appointment with your client
- If they haven’t already donated, invite the client to make the voluntary donation to Will Aid at your meeting – encourage them to do so online
- If they prefer, they can make a cheque payable to Will Aid
- Let your client know how long their Will is likely to take
- Ask whether they’ve considered including a bequest to a charity or charities
- Give them a receipt (use the yellow copy from Will Aid’s receipt book, which you’ll find in the action pack) for their donation (please note the data protection information)
After each appointment with your client
- Send Will Aid the white copy receipt as soon as possible – your Will Aid action pack includes address stickers
- If the client has donated by cheque, please post it to Will Aid with the receipt
- Keep the blue receipt for your records
Will Aid’s success has meant that in previous years they have had so many enquiries from people wanting Wills that they simply haven’t been able to service them all – due to not having enough firms taking part in their scheme.
Being a part of Will Aid’s special partnership not only creates a sense of achievement amongst your colleagues but is a great way to attract interest in your firm. It also gives you a unique opportunity to help some of the most vulnerable people both here in the UK and around the World.
So, what are you waiting for? Contact Will Aid today as taking part benefits everyone!
