Effective Legacies, our totally revamped (and free) will preparation service is now up and running for those interested in bequeathing to GiveWell’s top charities!
In October 2015, we rolled out the beta version of our Legacy campaign and demand for the product was high. In the short time it was active, almost 50 people created free documents with bequests to GiveWell’s top charities, and many others have expressed interest to do so since we paused the service in December. To get an idea of just how much impact that is, let’s put this in perspective: if a single will among those is executed as written, the project ROI will likely exceed a 1-to-1 ratio. Beyond that, this campaign could be labeled as a significantly effective fundraising method.
Of course, by the very nature of this campaign, we likely won’t know for quite some time just how effective it could be, but we predict these bequests will make a massive impact in the developing world someday, which is why we’ve spent the last few months piecing together an improved legacy campaign to make this free service accessible to as many people as possible.
With Effective Legacies, you fill out a 15-minute form and finish with a professional, legally binding document that will honour your commitments if the unexpected happens. We are excited to announce that our new partnership with LawDepot has made this service even higher quality and quite easy to use. And it’s still free! Feel free to try it out even if you’ve made a will with us before. And of course, tell your friends and family.
Questions? Thoughts? Send them to baxter@charityscience.com.
(Currently this service is only available in Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia at the moment, but we’re working on expanding.)
This is a really interesting topic, and I certainly encountered more complications that I expected in making legacies to charity in my will.
Reading the CS site, it directs you away from the will writing process if you are over 40 or have one of: a spouse, children, property (home ownership?), a business
Does that mean that if someone has written a will with this product, but changes to being one of these categories (over 40, married, a parent, a homeowner or a business owner) then their will would not be valid?
Hi Bernadette, great question! Thanks for bringing it to my attention that this isn't immediately clear. I'll try to make it more clear on the website.
The reason we have that section there is because oftentimes (based on our previous experience) these characteristics determine the complexity of the document that must be procured. In other words, the more possessions and benefactors a person has, the more paperwork needs to be done, and the more careful they must be about making sure it's done right.
We are therefore in the process of securing partnerships with companies that could provide a more comprehensive service so that those with complex estates can be sure they have everything they need.
I should also add that this element of our Effective Legacies service is still under construction, so we're recommending that people utilize the primary service for now. The one that can be found here: http://www.charityscience.com/create-a-last-will.html
I can't comment on the legality of, for example, a married person's will that was written when they were single, as I believe the laws vary based on location, but I can say it's a good idea to update the document after any major life event.
Hope this answers your question! Let me know if you have any others. :)
That seems reasonable. The advice we've had both specifically and generally from legal people is that a will which appears not to take into account your life circumstances is open to challenge. Certainly in the UK, charitable legacies have been successfully challenged for not taking children into account (even when that appears to have been deliberate). https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/28/daughter-wins-164000-decade-long-legal-battle-mother-will-charities
I guess my observation is that almost all people would expect to be in that more complex position before they die, and I expect that will have a large effect on the potential for ROI of these wills.
Yep. Would also be keep on the more comprehensive one 😊 well done though
Thanks Tom! Yes we're hoping to have something more comprehensive up and running in the next few months, though I would recommend people use the primary service regardless. The final product is still great quality and there's a good chance it's sufficient even for complex estates.
Absolutely. I've come across similar stories in my research. Quite unfortunate and sad. It seems like it would be a good idea to update around once every two years even if that just means changing the document so it's dated more recently. I would imagine having a recently updated document opens it up to less scrutiny.
We're also quite aware that the service we offer provides more of a foundation for one's estate planning that someone would have to build on over time. One benefit is that you can download your completed will as an editable doc so that you can change, print and sign multiple times as necessary, though major life events likely require more attention than self-editing.
Great observations, Bernadette! Thanks! :)
By the way, I just noticed that I have to be at least 18 to sign the affidavit in this will.