The free-Will and charity-gifting fallacies

Everyone likes something for nothing, and Free Wills Month (each March and October) does genuinely galvanise people into finally writing a Will. A charity donation is a good thing if it is what you want. But the Will industry is not regulated, and the "free" label deserves scrutiny, because the true costs tend to surface only after death.

The charity-gifting fallacy

Some Will-writers encourage a 10% charitable gift on the basis that it reduces your Inheritance Tax bill. The arithmetic rarely works the way it is implied: fewer than 1 in 20 UK estates currently pays any Inheritance Tax (4.62% in 2022/23, per HMRC), and even where IHT applies, a 10% gift always costs the estate substantially more than the tax it saves. The taxed share is rising - with thresholds frozen and pensions entering the IHT net from April 2027, forecasts suggest around 1 in 12 estates by the end of the decade - but that makes proper planning more valuable, not the charity-gifting arithmetic more true. Give to charity because you want to - not as a tax strategy someone sold you. (We do not give regulated tax advice: our role is designing the legal structures with the tax consequences in mind.)

The free-Will fallacy

Why would a business write your Will for nothing? Often because the Will itself is not the product - you are. Common models include the firm writing itself in as your executor, with probate charged to your estate at rates your family cannot easily refuse; and "Will banks", where books of Wills are sold on to probate specialists. Your free Will can be a saleable commodity.

The quality problem

Because Will-writing is unregulated, the drafting quality behind free offers varies enormously. A substantial proportion of the Wills we are asked to review are not fit for purpose. Checking for a STEP qualification is the single most reliable filter: fewer than 1 in 5 UK Will-writers hold a professional-standard qualification.

Advice without the catch

At Kinherit, the advice stage costs you nothing and commits you to nothing - you pay only if you choose to proceed, and our fees are published on our services page. No executor appointments, no probate reselling, no storage traps.

Key takeaways

• "Free" Wills are often funded by executor fees and probate reselling after your death
• A 10% charity gift virtually never saves more tax than it costs the estate
• Qualification, not price, is the reliable quality filter - look for STEP

Book a complimentary, no-obligation consultation and compare properly.