Free Wills Month is managed by Capacity Marketing for Charities on behalf of a group of national charities. All questions regarding Free Wills Month should be addressed to Claire Pugh at the Free Wills Month office - telephone 0333 022 0396, email: claire@freewillsmonth.org.uk
The Free Wills Month charities will direct members of the public to solicitors participating in the campaign. Solicitors will be issued with Declaration Forms (one per client, counting couples as one client). The Free Wills office will pay the solicitor's fee (see F below) for drawing up the Will/s on receipt of an invoice and completed Declaration Form/s.
Solicitors should share both the Declaration Form and their own terms of business during the initial consult, prior to any draft Will being written so that the individual is fully aware of all of the terms and conditions under the service. Free Wills Month only works with registered solicitors and law firms.
The campaign is intended for those aged 55 and over. In the case of couples making mirror Wills it is sufficient for one person to have reached 55. The Free Wills Month website, leaflet and all advertisements contain details of the age qualification.
All sections of the Declaration Form should be completed, and signed by the client. Solicitor-client confidentiality is paramount: no information will be sought from solicitors by the charities beyond that included on the Declaration Form.
In accordance with guidance from the Fundraising Regulator and the Charity Commission, inclusion of a legacy to one or more of the Charities in a Will paid for by the charities is not a condition of the payment being made. However, the charities hope that the strength of their causes and their provision of the campaign will encourage users to remember some or all of the charities in their Will. The Declaration Form enables the charities to assess the results of the campaign and to account to their Trustees.
Each firm will be issued with a set number of Declaration Forms (CDFs) at the start of the campaign. The response from members of the public for appointments will vary across firms. The campaign's target is to generate 1200 Wills. If a solicitor is happy to continue writing Wills after their initial allocation is utilised, further forms may be available on request.
The Free Wills office will contact law firms during the campaign to assess the number of appointments being made. If you utilise all the CDFs in your pack, please ensure you contact the Free Wills Month office before booking any additional appointments, as payment cannot be guaranteed for appointments beyond your allocation.
Free Wills Month will be publicised via advertisements and PR initiatives in local newspapers, leaflets, social media and a dedicated website. Participating solicitors will be supplied with leaflets and posters for reception areas.
The Free Wills Month office* will pay an agreed fee** for each Will written through the campaign on presentation of a valid invoice and Confidential Declaration Form signed by the client/s. These fees are for simple Wills. The Free Wills Month office will normally pay against solicitors' invoices within 20 working days.
The Free Wills Month office will pay for Wills regardless of whether or not the Wills include a legacy to one of the sponsoring charities. In instances where a Free Wills Month client has instructed you and you have drafted a Will, but then the client has cancelled the process prior to signing the Will, you should refer to your own terms of business for recovering your costs directly from the client. Outside of exceptional circumstances, Free Wills Month will only pay the agreed rates for a signed Will and completed Confidential Declaration Form.
Invoices should be addressed to Ashton Maund Associates: related payments will refer to Ashton Maund Associates on your bank statement.
The fees stated under F are for simple Wills and are intended to cover the Will itself and all associated ID checks and administration normally included within a solicitor's standard Will-writing service. The definition of 'simple Will' lies with the solicitor concerned.
Should a solicitor find, during the actual drawing up of a Will (or mirror Wills), that the task is more complicated than expected, the solicitor may ask the client to pay the difference between the solicitor's rate for a simple Will and the actual fee required. A non-exclusive list of such work is tax advice, division of tenancy, and creation of a discretionary trust. The simple element of the Will, will still be paid for by the Free Wills Month office.
A client can also register their Will with the National Will Register for free using a code provided on their Confidential Declaration Form. These checks and administration should not be charged separately to the client as they form part of the Free Will offer.
All participating firms must agree to comply with all applicable anti-slavery and human trafficking laws, statutes, regulations and codes, particularly, but not strictly limited to, the Modern Slavery Act 2015; and will make the organisers of this campaign aware if the firm has reason to believe that it, or any of its officers, employees, agents or subcontractors have breached or potentially breached any of the obligations under this act.
Capacity Marketing undertakes, as part of these Terms & Conditions, to operate cognizant of the SRA Code of Conduct 2011 (Version 21, December 2018) particularly Chapter 8 (Publicity) and Chapter 9 (Fee Sharing & Referrals). Capacity Marketing does not charge introducer or referral fees and does not connect solicitors with clients as a result of marketing or other activities which, if done by a person regulated by the SRA, would be contrary to the Principles or any requirements of the Code.
* The Free Wills Month office refers to Ashton Maund Associates Ltd, a company registered in England & Wales, trading as Capacity Marketing For Charities, which organises Free Wills Month on behalf of the participating charities.
** The agreed fee will have been communicated to you separately, but should you be unsure please contact support@freewillsmonth.org.uk
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