St Vincent de Paul Society is one of the charities signed up to Safewill,offering its supporters a free will for using the service.
The charity’s acting CEO,Yolanda Saiz,said the partnership had allowed it to connect with supporters who may not have otherwise considered leaving a gift to charity in their will,amid a “slowing” of donations during rising cost of living in 2022.
By Christmas Eve,St Vincent de Paul had only met half of its Christmas appeal fundraising target,amid a 20 per cent increase in demand for its services. One in four people were asking for assistance for the first time.
“We are seeing significant increased demand,so we are asking people to continue donating to Vinnies to help us meet that need,” she said.
Helen Merrick,general manager of fundraising and marketing at Mission Australia,said “many of[its] supporters” had provided positive feedback about the Safewill service.
Mission Australia has also experienced a rise in demand for its services over 2022,Merrick said,due to financial stress and housing unaffordability.
‘It is sensible to use a lawyer to draft a will ... I’m not saying no-one can ever make their own will,but it isn’t easy.’
Professor Prue Vines,author of a book on will law in Australia
“Mission Australia treats legacies gifted in wills very carefully. Every gift ensures vital services that have a real and enduring impact can continue,” she said.
However,some lawyers have raised concerns about the rise of online services such as Safewill and its competitor,Willed.
Professor Prue Vines,co-director of UNSW’s private law research and policy group and a co-author of a textbook on Australian succession law,said making a will was a more important act than many people realised.
“It is sensible to use a lawyer to draft a will so that you don’t leave problems behind you,” she said. “I’m not saying no-one can ever make their own will,but it isn’t easy and takes really hard work to do it properly.”
Vines said issues arising from a will created without consulting a lawyer included jurisdictional problems and not understanding tax implications of some decisions.
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“I understand why charities would do this[partnership],and hopefully it won’t cause problems that a family of good will can’t sort out,but it is definitely not the safest way to pass on your assets,” she warned.
In response,Lubofsky said Safewill was only designed to allow people with uncomplicated assets to write simple wills.
“We don’t see digital will providers as being a wholesale replacement for estate lawyers,” he said.
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