September is Write a Will Month! Book your appointment from 18th August.
Life changes? Make sure your Will is up to date!
Your life is full of milestones; house purchases, marriage, children or divorce...to ensure that your wishes remain current, you should keep it updated - why not utilise our Write A Will Month to make those changes.
This September, Oakhaven has teamed up with local solicitors and estate planners who will waive their usual Will-writing fee when you make a donation to Oakhaven Hospice.
To ensure your wishes are fulfilled after you are gone, you should have a will in place. Write a Will Month enables everyone to write or update their Will - and to also support Oakhaven to make a difference for local families living across our New Forest, Totton and Waterside communities.
Click the button below to take part in our Write a Will Month, to find out supporting solicitors and will-writers and to make your donation.
Having an up-to-date Will is important
Natascha Maenhaut, Director at RoCHe Wills and Trusts, said, "Making a will is crucial for ensuring your assets are distributed according to your wishes after your death. It allows you to choose who inherits your money, property, and possessions, rather than leaving this decision to the legal rules of intestacy. Supporting a charity such as Oakhaven Hospice can reduce the Inheritance tax on your estate from 40% to 36%, if 10% or more of your chargeable estate is left to charity."
How you can remember a charity in your Will
There are several ways that you could remember a charity like Oakhaven Hospice in your Will:
- Pecuniary Gifts: these are monetary gifts - a specific amount of money, e.g. £1,000 to Oakhaven.
- Specific Gifts: these are individual items that you identify - e.g. a property, jewellery, a painting or shares.
- Residuary Gift: this is a gift of a portion or all of the remaining assets in your estate after all other debts, taxes, and specific and pecuniary gifts have been distributed. This is the most valuable gift to a charity as it will increase in value with your estate - e.g. £1,000 to each of my siblings and the remainder of my estate to Oakhaven. Or, 50% of my residuary estate to my siblings and the remaining 50% to Oakhaven. Or all my residuary estate to my siblings but if they have all predecease me then my residuary estate passes to Oakhaven.
Write a Will Month is a great opportunity to make or change your will, whilst supporting Oakhaven with a donation. We would like to thank the local solicitors and estate planners who have generously agreed to be a part of our annual will-writing initiative, giving their time and waiving their usual fee so that Oakhaven can benefit from donations.
Your Write a Will Month donations will make a real difference and help you to keep your will and wishes up to date.
Click here for more information about how to make an appointment, or contact the Fundraising Team directly on 01590 677773 or fundraising@oakhavenhospice.co.uk.
Making a Will is important
“We cannot overstate how important it is to make a Will. Whether you are a first-time buyer, a new parent, a thriving business owner, a retiree, or somewhere in between. Choosing a professionally written Will could help your loved ones avoid conflict, save you thousands in Inheritance Tax, and make it easier to make decisions while you’re still alive. Making a Will gives you clarity, control, and peace of mind.”
Jesamine Somerville
Heppenstalls Solicitors
Did you know? Supporting a charity in your Will can help reduce Inheritance Tax
"If you leave a percentage of your estate (currently 10% or more) to a charity like Oakhaven Hospice in your Will, the value of that gift will be exempt from Inheritance Tax and you will pay a reduced rate of Inheritance Tax on the rest of your taxable estate (at present 36% instead of 40%)"
Maxine Winfield
Moore Barlow
"I already have a Will, how can I change make changes to it?"
"You can make a change by preparing a Codicil, which is a legal document that can make small changes to your existing Will without the need to rewrite it. Alternatively, by creating a new Will. If you have significant changes you wish to make, then it is best to write a new Will and revoke your current Will."
Richard Wadsworth
Scott Bailey
Help hospice care live on
Leave a gift in your will and help protect hospice care for all, for now, forever.
The Oakhaven Walk 2026
The Oakhaven Walk is on Saturday 16th May! Register now to walk 26, 13 or 8 miles.
Join our family of volunteers!
Volunteers help us in every department. Could you volunteer to help us support local families?

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