As part of Remember a Charity in your Will Week, a group of six pensioners decided to take to the skies to re-sign their Wills before sky diving from 10,000 feet. The stunt was just one of the activities to mark the annual awareness week which took place between 7-13 September and is designed to help the charity sector by encouraging more people to leave a gift to a good cause in their legacy.

Kings Court Trust firmly believes in the benefits of having a professional help draft a Will to ensure that everybody’s final wishes are made clear and carried out accurately. Drafting a Will and carefully considering what is to happen to our finances is not the most cheery of topics, but one that should be taken very seriously.

When making a Will, many people choose to use a DIY kit or online template for a variety of reasons. Research shows that 37% of us thought it would be cheaper than going through a solicitor, whilst others thought it would be quicker to do it ourselves or didn’t want a stranger knowing their business.

According to the Guardian, less than half of UK adults have drawn up a Will, which leaves more than 26 million people with no formal instructions on how their assets should be distributed after their death.

Recent statistics have highlighted that the UK is becoming more generous in the amounts they leave to charity. However, what may be surprising is that we are leaving more inheritance to animal charities than those that protect our children!

Following on from the recent and well publicised Ilott case, the Financial Times reports that the ruling highlights the powers at the disposal of the courts to overrule Wills.

According to a survey conducted by Remember A Charity, one in six Britons aged 60 and above have decided to include a charitable donation in their Will, the Charity Times website reports.

A landmark legal ruling has seen a daughter who was explicitly left out of her mother’s Will awarded £164,000 in inheritance on appeal.

An interesting article in The Telegraph recently discussed new legislation which will potentially give Britons with a European holiday home more freedom in terms of how these assets are recorded in their Will.