Fortunes & feuds: exploring wills

Family Tree editor Helen Tovey reminds us it's never too soon to make a start on wills - whether our own or our ancestors'...

There’s no getting away from it – making your will just isn’t a cheery topic. But as we all know, we really should do it, so, don’t delay. This November Will Aid will be running again, and it makes the ideal nudge for you to book an appointment with a Will Aid solicitor, and get your will sorted and crossed off, at last, from your mental to-do list – and support a selection of valuable charities at the same time.

This is how it works: through November, registered Will Aid solicitors will waive their usual fee and write a basic will, simply asking for a charitable donation. Details of participating solicitors can be found at www.willaid.org.uk or by phoning 0300 0300 013.

Last year Will Aid raised £2 million for charity and hopes to exceed that this year. Charities supported by the Will Aid initiative are: ActionAid, Age UK, British Red Cross, Christian Aid, NSPCC, Save the Children, SCIAF, Sightsavers and Trocaire.

While the thought of your own will may not seem very exciting, the wills of our ancestors – they’re another thing altogether. So in the December issue of Family Tree, on sale now, author Jenny Jones examines wills from centuries past and shows how they can be a mine of family history information. The guineas and the silver teapots may be long gone, but details that have survived are a much greater treasure for the family historian…