I have at long last made a Will

I cannot count the number of times I have attempted to sort out my Last Will and Testament over the last 20 years and have run for my life, every time, from what is one of the most dismal procedures know to humanity and a chance to rip of those attempting to put their affairs in order for those left grieving and in pain.

The recent death of my neighbour and friend, who often said he needed to do a will and never managed it and left his grieving mother to sort the mess out that he leaves behind, brought me up short. I couldn’t put this off any longer, I must face the beast and get it done. As usual my first enquiries were a hideous experience of gobbledegook legal bollocks and unacceptable expense.

As a member of Unite The Union I discovered that they do a free Will Service. My contact with the Union was friendly and helpful and sent me a link to the Will service. Sad to relate, the online service is one of the worst interactive and unintuitive digital disasters I have ever encountered. I did not have the strength to even begin to do battle with it and sloped off feeling depressed and beaten.

Next day, I sat and wondered what the hell to do. I knew I could not leave this undone nor leave it till tomorrow (as in – never). My thoughts went thus: I am a hippy, I have lived my life across the tracks from the majority of humanity, I have fought the system as a Community and Youth Worker and as an individual and this was no different. I needed a will, so the obvious answer was to do it myself and in so doing, it would my final protest in life. I began to feel a whole lot better. I had two main issues that would impact what I was about to do. First and foremost, as a champion of plain English, my will must contain no legal jargon or bullshit. There is no excuse for obscure language, though it’s profitable. Secondly, it must contain clear and understandable instructions that any reasonable human being would understand.

It took me a day, checking it out with my daughter, and just yesterday, I signed it in the presence of two witnesses who intuitively understood what I’d done and why.

For anyone wishing to do the same I would recommend the following Citizens Advice online document https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/wills/ , which I only discovered today.

My will is a simple document, I have no complex financial interests, it just leaves no doubt about my final wishes. I may have to add to it and it will remain a work in progress for a while. But right now, if I snuff it, there is a legal document in place and best of all, once I worked out what I wanted to do, I thoroughly enjoyed doing it.

Much love,
Keith. 15 April 2024