Why a life changing event made me write a Will

Although it is widely recognised there are key times when people make a Will, such as when you get married, have children, get divorced or retire for example.  For me it was when my sister had a severe health event at the age of 51.  I am pleased to say, my sister survived, but her life is massively affected.  My world was turned upside down and all of a sudden our whole family were faced with my sister’s, and in fact, our own mortality.  I was living my busy life with little time to focus on sorting ‘life admin’.  My attitude had always been, ‘my family usually live a full life well into their 90’s, so surely we didn’t need to worry’!  Fair to say, we all had a stark wake-up call that day and a reminder that life can be cut short for any one of us.  I now have a Will. 

When creating my will it was really hard to think of all eventualities needing to be covered, but the Will writing service helped me with each element. One thing that was clear from the outset, the importance of leaving a gift to HEART UK in order to ensure future generations could be supported way beyond my lifetime.

As the Chief Executive of HEART UK for the past 10 years, I know the difference legacies have made to us.  However, I always struggle with my feelings when HEART UK receives a legacy but the fact that someone has so very kindly thought about leaving a precious gift to help future generations is so incredible.  We always ensure we spend every penny of a legacy wisely, to ensure the gift helps us support many more beneficiaries in order to make a huge difference in their and their family’s lives.   

HEART UK has a massive impact through the work it does supporting individuals, families and health care professionals through our helpline, support materials, education events and much more. I always describe HEART UK as small but powerful.

The importance of leaving a gift in your will for HEART UK to continue our life saving work, truly is giving life to future generations.  It is one of the most precious ways to support a cause you feel so passionate about.  I would ask you to please consider supporting us in this way to ensure we can make a difference to the future generations which could easily but possibly, unknowingly, include your family.

For further information about leaving a gift in your Will see our webpage.