For subscribers

Write a ‘death’ letter in addition to wills

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox

A letter of wishes can take any format you like, but should be dated and signed and include the details of any executors or trustees.

A letter of wishes can take any format you like, but should be dated and signed and include the details of any executors or trustees.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PIXABAY

Stuart Trow

Google Preferred Source badge

Each week, almost 2,000 people below the age of 65 die in England and Wales. Put another way, residents there are 250 times more likely to suffer a premature demise than to win a million pounds in the National Lottery, and you don’t even have to buy a ticket.

Yet few of us are comfortable contemplating our own mortality, so much so that 60 per cent of British adults do not have a valid will. This can be a costly and distressing omission. 

See more on