Write your free will
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Andrew is my older brother and is now in his early 40’s. He was diagnosed as autistic at just over three years old.
For years, my parents fought hard with the education system to get the support Andrew needed in school. Thankfully, the National Autistic Society was able to help by giving Andrew a place at two of their pioneering schools during his childhood.
The education he received meant that Andrew could make his own choices and achieve his full potential in life. Andrew now lives and works at a farm in East Sussex, alongside two other colleagues. He often says to me that he is happy, which is incredibly significant as Andrew was non-verbal until the age of 18!
As a teenager, I started working in care, and saw how many other families were having to fight for a decent standard of education for their autistic children. Just like my own parents had done all those years ago.
I still think about those families. It’s what inspired me to try and change attitudes as part of the National Autistic Society’s campaigning team.
I hope you will consider pledging a gift in your will to the National Autistic Society to help us continue transforming society for autistic people and their families. It’s something my own mum has made the decision to do.
Your loved ones should come first, but maybe like my mum and many other supporters, you can find room for our charity. All gifts, regardless of their size, help us ensure that autistic people are supported to live to their full potential. Just like Andrew has.
Thank you,
Tim Nicholls
Head of Influencing and Research (and Andrew’s brother)
The National Free Wills Network
Are you thinking about writing your will, or updating your current one? Our new free wills offer can help you do so, completely free of charge.
Writing a will is crucial to ensuring that your wishes and beliefs regarding the distribution of your estate are granted, including what you want to give to your loved ones.
Our new free wills offer allows you to do this, without the usual cost and work in finding a suitable solicitor in your local area. Just ask our Legacy Team for a referral to the National Free Wills Network, and this will start the process. You’ll then receive a pack from the Network, containing a list of local solicitors who can write your will for free.
To get a National Free Wills Network referral, please email legacyteam@nas.org.uk or you can phone our Supporter Care team on 0808 800 1050.
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The National Free Wills Network is an established organisation who work with charities. The purpose of the Network is to offer free will writing services to our valued supporters.We work directly in partnership with the Network to provide you with this offer. It is not open to the wider public – the only way to use the Network is through a referral.
When you are referred, you’ll have access to a large, and still expanding, network of solicitors. With 900 law firms currently involved, on average there is a participating solicitor within 3.5 miles of each person referred.
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No – you're not obligated to give any assets, or write the National Autistic Society into your will, if you do choose to use our Free Wills offer.We appreciate any and all gifts left in wills to our charity, and in fact these gifts make up 20% of our income to continue the vital work we do. If you’re interested in learning further about what gifts in wills to our charity can do, please email us for a copy of our Legacy Guide.
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The free wills offer only covers the cost of creating a simple will, and would not include a discretionary trust. Additionally, the solicitors that the National Free Wills Network will refer you to will not necessarily be specialised in creating a discretionary trust, especially one made on behalf of an autistic loved one with additional needs.Therefore, if you are thinking about creating a trust for an autistic loved one, we would recommend you to get in touch with our Wills & Trusts Phone Service who can arrange an initial phone call with a specialised solicitor, and also provide you with a list of solicitors who have informed us they can help write a trust for a vulnerable loved one.