If the past turbulent year has taught us anything, it’s just how quickly life can change and the dramatic impact this can have on us and the people we hold dear. That’s why as well as reminding people about the importance of having a will, we’re stressing how crucial it is to keep its content updated so that your loved ones will be protected after you’ve gone.
Launching our Make a Will Month campaign (1 – 31 May) in partnership with local solicitors, St Luke’s is highlighting the good sense of making sure your will keeps pace with the significant changes in your life, such as buying a home, getting married, starting a family, getting divorced or the death of your partner.
In support of the campaign, which raises vital funds to help our charity continue providing compassionate care for terminally ill people across Plymouth and surrounding areas, 10 community-spirited solicitors are waiving the fee they would normally charge for making and updating wills in return for a donation to St Luke’s. We give our specialist care and support free of charge to the many local families who rely on our service, but with less than a third of our funding coming from the NHS we are reliant on the generosity of supporters to continue our vital role.
Spearheading St Luke’s Make a Will Month campaign is our Head of Fundraising Penny Hannah, who knows first-hand how life can change overnight and how keeping your will current can help bring peace of mind.
Penny said: “I think it was learning at an early age that nothing in life is certain that made me feel I always want to be as prepared as I can be for whatever lies ahead. I was just 14 when my father died suddenly, and I had to grow up fast. Losing dad was incredibly hard, and my older siblings and I became a rock for my mum.
“I started work as soon as I could so that there was enough money coming in, taking a cleaning job after school at 14 and going into the world of retail, where I quickly worked my way up. By the age of 23 I was a store manager for a national retail chain and had my own home, but it was marriage and the birth of my first daughter, Amber, that was the catalyst for me deciding to get organised and make a will. I remember, very clearly, wanting to know she would be provided for if history repeated itself and she lost me young in life the way I lost my dad. When my then-husband and I made our wills, we included our choice of legal guardians for her, something we updated a few years later when our second daughter, Ruby, was born.
“Since then, life has taken many unexpected twists and turns, as it does for most people. Following the breakdown of my marriage and subsequent divorce, which led to a new chapter in my life, I knew it was important that I should rewrite my will. The next part of my story is a fairytale. I met my prince, Andrew, and when we married our two families became one bigger one of seven. We have shifted careers and moved home, and as a couple we have agreed to keep our wills current so that our loved ones are provided for, no matter what happens.
“Before the pandemic we enjoyed foreign holidays, and we hope to again when it’s safe to travel. Every time we go away, we feel we can truly relax because we know our affairs are in order should the worst happen. We’ve recently become grandparents for the first time, so life has shifted again in another wonderful way.
“While I understand that it may not be uppermost in people’s minds at the moment with everything else that is going on, I can’t stress enough how having an up-to-date will can help free you to enjoy living in the moment. It is one of the kindest things you can do for the people who matter most to you, making what can be a traumatic time for them that bit easier.”
Details of the solicitors taking part in St Luke’s Make a Will Month can be found here, or call 01752 492626 for more information. Appointments can be made for May or for later in the year, and there is the option to meet with a solicitor online or in person.
“I could always see that St Luke’s was keen to innovate and fluid enough to respond to the changing needs of patients, and when I developed an interest in increasing our provision for our patients with lymphoedema (a chronic condition that causes swelling in the body’s tissues), I was pleased to be encouraged to investigate the best way of doing this.
