Leave a gift in your will

Leaving a gift in your will

Having an up-to-date will is an important part of financial planning. It helps ensure that your wishes will be carried out when you’re no longer here.  A well-considered will enables you to provide for people and causes that have been important to you in your lifetime as well as giving peace of mind.

Many people choose to remember family and friends along with charities which have impacted their lives. When you make your will, please consider Headway – the brain injury association. We rely on voluntary contributions, including gifts in wills, to help fund our work supporting families struggling to cope with life after brain injury. By leaving a gift you will help this work continue in the future, improving lives and providing vital services.

If you choose to include Headway in your will, you will be making a difference.

If you cannot find the answers to your questions or would like to discuss your plans in more detail, please contact legacy@headway.org.uk.

Planning your Will?

We have lots of information which can be downloaded (see the Related resources section) such as a useful Will Planner (PDF), Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) and Glossary of Terms (PDF) to help you prepare all the information needed by your solicitor to draft your Will. 

Leaving a gift to Headway - the brain injury association

To include us in your will, your solicitor or will writer will need our charity name and number: Headway – the brain injury association; no. 1025852 (England and Wales) or SC039992 (Scotland).

Leaving a Gift to a local Headway Branch

If you wish to leave a gift in your will to your local Headway Branch please ensure you include the following statement so that we can make sure your gift is allocated as per your wishes.

“I wish xxx to be left to Headway - the brain injury association registered charity number 1025852, and on trust by the charity, be wholly transferred to [insert name of local Headway branch] to be used for the general purposes of [insert name of Headway local branch] BUT IF the branch no longer exists at the date of my death or closes thereafter or cannot for whatever reason spend the funds on the objects of the local Headway branch then I DIRECT that the funds be applied in the [insert name of region] or county or for the general purposes of the charity.”

Free Will writing service for Headway supporters

We’ve partnered with expert will writers, Octopus Legacy (formerly known as Guardian Angel), who have taken the headache out of will writing with a quick and easy online service where each will is checked over by a legal expert.

Click here to claim your free will online today.

Octopus Legacy also offers telephone and face to face Will writing services for those that would rather speak to a solicitor, to find out more and to book an appointment simply call the team on 020 4525 3605 and quote Headway – the brain injury association.

Most people who use this service choose to leave a gift to us and we are very grateful to every one of them. There is, of course, no obligation to do so.

If you would prefer to meet with a solicitor near you, Headway has relationships with solicitors across the UK who offer will writing services. You can find a solicitor near you by contacting our team at legacy@headway.org.uk or searching our brain injury solicitors directory.

Already written your Will?

If you have already written your Will and would like to make any changes, it is sometimes possible to complete a simple document called a Codicil (PDF) which can be prepared and attached to your Will by your solicitor. This means you may not have to re-write the whole Will if you wanted to, for example, add Headway as a beneficiary.

Pledge form

People who remember us with a gift in their Will are very important to us. Although there is no obligation to tell us of your intentions, we hope you will consider doing so. It really does help us plan for the future and enables us to thank you properly and keep you updated with our latest news and developments. A pledge form (PDF) has been included to help you do this.

Headway's promises to you

We recognise that your loved ones come first in your will but If you choose to leave a gift to us in the future, Headway promises...

• to always respect your privacy
• to never ask you about the size or type of gift if you choose to support us in this way
• to respect your choice to change your mind; there is no binding commitment to us
• to understand that it is your decision and yours alone
• to maximise the impact of your gift
• to treat you and your family with courtesy, sensitivity and respect
• to keep your surviving family informed about what we have been able to achieve with the gift if that is their wish.

Been inspired? 

Read about those who have supported Headway through gifts in their wills.

Gary Winter’s family were filled with pride when they discovered his wishes.

Daniel Lingard’s mother and sister feel that he lives on through the help that he is giving others.