Making a will and funeral planning

Planning for what you want to happen after you die can be daunting. Documenting your wishes can make it easier for your loved ones to understand.

Making a will

A will lets you leave a record of what you want to happen to your money, property, and possessions after you have died. It should explain who you want to benefit and in what way, who should look after children under the age of 18 and what happens if the people listed in the will die before you do.

You need to decide who will be executor of the will, the person who will carry out of these wishes on your behalf. You can write a will yourself, but many people get advice about this. A will needs to be witnessed and signed to make it valid and then kept somewhere safe like your bank, with a solicitor or a company who stores wills.

Changes to an existing will are called a codicil and you can make as many as you want to, but major changes should be made in a new will which would override the old one. We provide detailed information on the steps taken to write a will and ensure that it is valid.

Make a will for free

We are delighted to partner with Make A Will Online to offer our supporters the chance to make a will for free.

We understand that the idea of making a will can sometimes be slightly daunting. However, it doesn’t have to be a difficult or costly process and once complete you can enjoy peace of mind knowing that your loved ones and the causes you care about will be looked after.

The process is very simple

All wills are checked by a qualified solicitor and covered by £2 million insurance. There is absolutely no obligation to leave us a gift in your will if you use this service, but we would be very happy if you chose to do so. The impact a legacy can have on our work is incredible.

Pancreatic Cancer Action will cover the cost of making the will itself (£40 for a single will or £80 for a pair of wills). If you would like to make a donation to cover this cost it would of course be greatly appreciated. There is an option to do so at the end of the will writing process.

Going to a solicitor normally costs £250 or more, so using this service will save you a considerable amount of money.

If you have complex needs or a large estate, we would recommend that you use a solicitor rather than Make A Will Online. However, for most people, this service provides all you need.

The simple process is as follows:

1. Answer a straightforward set of online questions
2. Review and confirm
3. Receive your will via email
4. Print the will and sign in the presence of two witnesses (guidance is provided for this step)

About our free online wills offer

Details of your legacy Will be shared with us: your name, your contact details, the amount of the legacy and the date you made the will. You can make a will and leave a legacy to us without sharing this information by paying for the will directly yourself here.

Funeral planning

People often don’t think about their own funeral and some people don’t like to at all. If you do want to make some plans for what happens after you have died you could consider if you would like to be buried or cremated and where you would like this to take place.

Some people like to think about what people will wear, what will be read and what music will be playing. You can include your decisions in an advance care plan or in your will. You can keep decisions documented for family and friends in whatever way you feel is best, “dying matters” produces a leaflet where you can record key decisions.

Funerals can be expensive, and you may want to consider having the costs come out of your estate. Marie Curie has more detailed information and links to further information about funeral planning on their website.