Nothing in life is certain and whilst we all hope to achieve our ‘three score years and ten’, some of us may die very young whilst others may live to receive a telegram from the Queen.

When the time comes, dying intestate, particularly if the death is sudden, makes coming to terms with that loss even more traumatic for those left behind. Similarly, if a will is out of date this means that the person’s wishes may not be interpreted as they would desire.

Ideally, making a will should be part of the rite of passage into adulthood. As you take on responsibilities for your own life then preparing for every eventuality should be as natural as buying a house or insuring a car.

Making a will is often associated with facing one’s own mortality but at Breens we prefer to view it as a prudent planning step. To help make the task less of an ordeal we organise ‘Willing Wednesdays’ to help focus the mind on the need to plan for the future and protect the interests of those we hold dear.

About Willing Wednesdays

Breens hold Willing Wednesdays for two reasons:

• to encourage people to put their affairs in order; over two thirds of adults die without having made a will.
• to support two very worthy hospices which offer a valuable service to the local community, Jospice (St Joseph’s Hospice Association) and Derian House children’s hospice.

All you have to do is to telephone us on a Wednesday, tell us that you wish to participate in the Willing Wednesdays initiative and we will do the rest. Our Later Life Planning team will arrange an appointment for you to visit our offices and make a new will or review an existing will. Once this has been completed we will donate part of our fee to the Hospice fund. At the end of each year we distribute the funds we have collected evenly between Jospice and Derian House and we will notify all participating clients of exactly how much we have raised.

We recommend you review your will every five years to ensure it remains relevant to your current lifestyle.

Why we are supporting the Hospices

Both Jospice and Derian House are well known and respected in their local communities for their high level of care and support to both patients and their families dealing with a long-term or terminal illness. Both centres rely on the financial support of local people and businesses to help them continue with their valuable work and we are pleased to support their efforts.