Why is it important to write a will?

Writing a will is the best way to have a say over what happens when you die. This is incredibly important if you have children under 18, as it allows you to state who you want to be their legal guardian if anything happens to you. Without a will, the courts could be left to decide who looks after them.

Writing a will also allows you to set out how you want to divide up your estate, including any property or accounts you own. You can make an inventory of your assets and choose exactly how much you want people to inherit, helping to prevent any family disputes when you’re gone.

Can you make an online will?

Yes, you can make an online will. Writing your will, like most things in the world has gone digital. Octopus Legacy's online system was created by lawyers and saves you time and money when making your will. Additionally, for peace of mind, your online will is checked by our expert team who are available when you need help.

Can you write your own online will?

Yes, it’s possible to write your will. Most DIY options are one size fits all. The benefit of writing an online will is that your will is tailored to the information you provide.

Can you write your online will without a solicitor?

You can write your will or online will without a solicitor, and it’s completely legal. Your online will is created by our solicitor-approved system and was built by a solicitor and expert legal team. It just requires you to input your own details to be completed.

There are some cases where you may want to seek legal advice. If you have a complicated or larger estate then you may need a complex will. If you think this might be you, then you can speak to our wills team free of charge on 020 4525 3605. They can help you find the best option for getting your will sorted.

How much does your online will cost?

Writing a will was expensive, which was another reason to put it off. The cost of doing a simple will with a lawyer or solicitor ranges from £150-£300. If you need a complex it can cost between £300-£1000. Wills are living documents, and the government recommends we edit them every 5 years, or when something big happens in our lives. But traditionally this has always been costly, making it hard to do. Traditional will writers either charge you for a new will or for a codicil (edit), which can cost up to £100+.

We wanted to do it differently. Our online will costs £90, and that includes our on-hand expert support. Life changes and wills should too. That’s why we’ve made editing your online will easy. We offer free unlimited changes for the first year and only £10 per year after that.

What if I don’t leave a gift to MQ?

That’s fine! You can still have a will written at no cost to you by using the coupon code MQMHFREE at check-out.

What happens if I don’t write a will?

On average, it costs families around £9,700 when their loved one dies without a will. This is usually made up of assets they can’t find or don’t know exist. By writing a will you help your loved ones to know exactly where to find everything.

If you die before making a will, any assets that can be found will be divided up following the rules of intestacy. These are a set of traditional laws that define exactly who gets what – but they may not follow exactly what you would want.

How old should you be when you write a will?

Every adult would, ideally, have a will. This gives you and your family piece of mind were the unexpected to happen.

This offer of a free will from MQ is open to anyone over the age of 18.

Throughout his life Jan Szczuka had always been a champion of ‘the underdog’.

Quietly generous, and a determined problem solver, Jan was very aware that both compassion and commitment were needed to address the inequalities he witnessed throughout his life.

Jan was highly academic and very intelligent. He worked as a patent attorney, had a family with two children, Timothy and Mark, and lived life to the full.

Adulthood resulted in Jan becoming ever more engaged in a range of physical, intellectual and spiritual activities including skiing, attending arts festivals, concerts and opera, sea kayaking, marathon running, and doing everything he could to support his wife, Faith, in her passion of carriage driving. In his retirement, Jan developed another dimension to his talents: woodworking. Jan completed an intensive course, learning every technique necessary to design and create fine furniture

This work ethic and desire to live life to the full was inherited from his parents, Helena and Józef. The Soviet invasion and occupation of the eastern half of Poland in 1939 resulted in them, amongst over one million people, being transported in cattle trucks to labour camps in Siberia where conditions were so harsh that many died including their three children. The 1941 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact started a chain of events which resulted in their release, an arduous and prolonged journey via a number of countries, and eventual evacuation to the UK. They both joined the RAF, Helena as a parachute packer and Józef as a wireless operator in Bomber Command.

After the war, they had four more children: Zosia who tragically died of pneumonia aged just one year, Jan and his two younger sisters Teresa and Jadwiga.

In Jan’s personal and professional life, he was very aware of the negative impact of poor mental health on the individual and others, as well as the inadequacies in provision of care and inequalities in research funding. In situations of apparent absence of a solution, he was even more determined to do what he could to help.

In 2014 Jan was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was stoic in the face of his illness and began to plan for the future of his estate by writing a will. He specified that he wanted to leave a legacy to mental health research. In true Jan style, he wanted to ‘champion the underdog’ and particularly wanted to support research into borderline personality disorder, a condition that affects around 1 in 100 people, but which has had little study. Although most of his legacy contributed to the Brighter Futures Programme, MQ agreed to set aside a portion specifically for research into BPD in line with Jan’s wishes.

BPD peaks in adolescence and affects decision making, impulse control and relationships. Many people with BPD experience intense emotions and find it difficult to maintain work or study, often meaning life can be a challenge.

Since his passing in 2016, Jan’s legacy has led to the funding of a new study at the University of Glasgow. This project is trialling a new treatment programme that, if successful, can help to change the lives of thousands of people every year.

Jan’s sister, Teresa, said of her brother’s legacy:

“It would make him feel proud and reassured that his legacy aims were being met. He wouldn’t make a song and dance about it; he would be quietly satisfied about the positive results.”

If you would like to leave a gift to MQ in your will to help fund the next breakthrough in mental health research, then we have made this easy for you.

Just click here to start writing your will, and when you get to the check out just use code MQMHFREE to cover the cost of your will.