General

At our recent Digital Death event with Steph Nimmo, we talked about the importance of writing or updating our Will. We also discussed the importance of having open and honest conversations about your wishes and your plans with family and friends. It's never going to be easy to talk about dying. But, by having these difficult conversations now, instead of at a time of crisis it can save a huge amount of heartache. If you want to talk to your family or friends about what you would like to happen after you die or perhaps you're interested in what their wishes [...]

Managing your affairs and enduring power of attorney... A time may come when you are no longer capable of managing your property or financial affairs. You will need someone to do this for you. You can appoint someone to hold a Power of Attorney that will allow them to act on your behalf. This can be a friend, relative or even a professional. What is a Power of Attorney? A Power of Attorney is actually a legal document. It gives someone else the authority to take actions or make decisions on your behalf. You choose a person or people to deal [...]

I’m mum to two young boys aged 9 and 10. When my eldest son was very little it soon became apparent that something wasn’t quite right. From global developmental delay to profound and multiple learning difficulties, from no diagnosis to a diagnosis of an ultra-rare genetic condition, our lives have not followed the path wed expected it would. Being parents to a child with life-long disabilities brings with it its own challenges and responsibilities. The most difficult to comprehend is the fact that he will probably still be here requiring the same level of care when we aren’t. And although hard [...]

I wanted to write a Will as I know the difficulties that can occur when a person dies intestate (without a Will). I wanted to make my wishes clear and to make things as simple and straightforward as possible for my family. In fact, the process of writing a Will was really simple. It helped that my husband and I had talked about our wishes before we went to meet with our Solicitor. But, our Solicitor was able to talk us through the legal aspect of preparing a Will. There were a few points during that meeting that we hadn't considered [...]

As part of Will to Give Week (4th – 8th November) Will to Give is urging people to leave a Gift in their Will. If an extra one per cent of Northern Ireland’s population left just one per cent of their estate it would equate to millions of pounds in vital income every year to our favourite causes. Gifts left in Wills are often the biggest source of income for local charities and make a huge difference to the services that can be provided but most people don’t realise that it’s even an option. Almost a quarter of the patients cared [...]

How would you like to be remembered? Everyone has the potential to leave behind incredible legacies for future generations. You might not be physically on this earth anymore but how you live your life, the choices you make, the things you say, the words you write can live on spreading from generation to generation. Each and every one us probably remember at least one person who has had a profound impact on our lives, one who we tell our children or our friends about. Perhaps it was a teacher, a sports coach, a boss or maybe even a stranger. Something they said [...]

A mum whose baby was diagnosed with cancer when he was just 4 weeks old is encouraging others to support the charity that was there for her family throughout one of the most difficult times in their lives. Karen Brown, from Markethill, is sharing her story to encourage local people to consider leaving a gift in their Will to support children diagnosed with cancer and their families. Karen, who lost her brother Graeme to cancer 24 years ago, when he was just 15 years old, said she never expected that one day her own family would be affected by the illness. [...]