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January 2008, Page 4.
Index of articles:
by subject,
by date.
In this issue:
(January 2008)
Hope Bradford,
Hymn,
A will.
A will to keep the church going
Towards the end of 2007 our church finances were boosted significantly by gifts from the estates of two of our former members (the details are confidential, of course). And, by chance, the Bradford Diocese has asked all its churches to take steps to encourage all Christians to make a will. So I’d better write about it, hadn’t I?
Actually it’s nothing new. The Book of Common Prayer tells clergy to remind those who are sick to order their affairs:
“Let him be admonished to make his will, and to declare his debts, what he oweth and what is owing unto him; for the better discharging of his conscience, and the quietness of his executors. But men should often be put in remembrance to take order for the settling of their temporal estates, whilst they are in health.”
Make a will! It stands to reason, doesn’t it? Yet many thousands of people die each year without leaving wills, and this often causes complications for their families and friends. It may mean their wishes are not carried out, and it often means family members argue about what they wanted done. Making a will is usually cheaper than having your executors sort out your intestacy.
It’s not only about money. If you have children, then you need a will to say who should become their guardians if you aren’t around. (No, Godparents are not legally guardians.) Young parents need wills too!
Think about who you want to benefit. Most people have families or descendants, and of course we want to make sure they are looked after (which is why life insurance is important). But do we want others to benefit as well? Many committed Christians (like our two) want to look after the church, so they leave either a legacy or a proportion of the residual estate.
Don’t imagine you’ve got nowt! You may think you haven’t much, and in fact you may not have much in income or loose savings. But if you have a house, it may well be worth £170,000 or more in Eccleshill. Of course, you won’t know, and that’s why a will which specifies a proportion of the residual estate, rather than a legacy which leaves a lump sum, can be very useful. The bible asks God’s people to tithe their incomes (to give a tenth), and the church has asked people to divide this half-and-half between the local church and God’s wider purposes. So a will which leaves one twentieth of the estate to the local church is in line with the bible.
Get legal advice. A will is a serious document and needs doing properly. I went to a solicitor who specialized in wills and probate, and so should you.
John Hartley