Without a Will, the law decides what happens to your estate. People assume that everything is passed to their spouse or partner – but this is not always the case. Writing a Will gives you peace of mind – your family and friends will be protected and you can remember people and causes that have been important to you.
We rely on people like you for 92% of our funding. Choosing to remember us in your Will means you will be helping our vital work continue as well as enabling us to reach more families in the future.
It is important to keep your Will up to date, and you can do this though our Free Wills Service. It is a good idea to review your Will if your circumstances change - for example getting married or having children. Before you update your Will, think about:
- the main things you own - like a house, shares, endowments, savings or life insurance policies - and roughly what they are worth
- who you would like to include - after you have looked after your loved ones, we do hope you’ll consider leaving a gift to Julia’s House in your Will
- who your executor(s) will be
- what kinds of gifts you want to leave the people and charities you care about – items like a house or valuables (called ‘specific’ gifts), or money (which includes both ‘pecuniary’ and ‘residuary’ gifts)
- choose how you wish to write your Will- you may have a family solicitor you already use, if not, you could ask a relative or friend to recommend one. Or you can write your Will with our Free Wills Service using one of our local participating solicitors or online.
There are several different ways that you can leave a gift in your Will:
- A residuary gift is a proportion of your estate, once all other gifts have been paid. This can be the entire residue, or a percentage of it. Just 1% can make a huge difference.
- A pecuniary gift is specific amount of money.
- A specific gift is an object such as a painting, a jewellery collection, or a property.
You can write your own Will, but a professionally written Will saves a lot of time and money in the future.
We offer two free Will writing service options which may be of interest: face to face with participating solicitors across Dorset and Wiltshire and online with our online Wills provider, Guardian Angel. Find out more about our Free Wills Service here.
Please include the full name, address and registered number of any charities that you wish to include. Ours are: Julia’s House, Ground Floor, Allenview House, Hanham Road, Wimborne, BH21 1AS (registered charity number 1067125).
Not at all. Whatever the size of your gift - large or small - you can be sure we will use it to provide vital care and support to local children and families across Dorset and Wiltshire.
Including a gift to Julia’s House in your Will doesn’t affect how much money you have to provide for older age. Your estate is calculated based on whatever is left after you die. And if you arrange your gift to Julia’s House as a residuary gift, it will only be paid out after all the other gifts you leave to your family or friends have been made.
Many people who leave a legacy to Julia’s House also support the charity during their lifetime through fundraising or giving donations. Others use their Wills to support for the first time- just 1% from your Will can make a huge difference to local families.
We promise to use your gift wisely and effectively continuing to support local children and families across Dorset and Wiltshire. 1 in 4 children in our care are supported by gifts in Wills- so our care will be your legacy.
Most people leave their gift to Julia’s House without specific conditions so that it can be used wherever it is most needed and will make the greatest difference to local families.
You don’t have to tell us what you decide but if you would like to tell us that would be wonderful. We would love to say thank you, and to keep you informed about our care services and families we support.
The executors of your Will are the people who administer it when you are gone. They tell the beneficiaries about their gifts, and settle any debts you owe. They also deal with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the UK and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners in Ireland where necessary.
You need to be able to trust them, and they need to be prepared to take on this responsibility.
You can name a family member (including someone benefiting from your Will) or a friend.
Alternatively, you can use a professional like an accountant or solicitor (who will normally require payment from your estate). Or, if you prefer, a combination of relatives, friends and professionals.
If you want to make a change or an addition to an existing Will, you can usually do this easily with a codicil - to find out more, just ask your solicitor. It is very important to use a solicitor to do this to make sure you aren’t inadvertently upsetting any other arrangements in your Will.
Or you can simply rewrite your Will for free using our Free Wills Service
Yes we do offer a Free Wills Service. We offer two free Will writing service options: face to face with participating solicitors across Dorset and Wiltshire and online with our online Wills provider, Octopus Legacy.
With using our Free Wills Service, if your Will is relatively straightforward it won’t cost you a penny. More complex Wills may incur extra charges.
With using our Free Wills Service, there’s no obligation to leave anything to Julia’s House but if you do choose to leave us a gift, you will be making a huge difference to the lives of the families we support – what a wonderful legacy.
