FREEWILL

Did you know that 70% of people do not update or complete a will? August is National Make a Will Month and the Vermont Catholic Community Foundation (VCCF) recently engaged with a company, FreeWill, to provide free, confidential, online assistance with creating a will, advance directive, and power of attorney in addition to outlining your wishes for a Catholic funeral and burial.

Estate planning is traditionally considered complex, scary, and expensive. That’s why FreeWill built a simple tool that anyone can use to create these important documents. All estate plans made using FreeWill are 100% confidential, legal, and specifically tailored to our jurisdiction.

In addition, setting up a Legacy Gift is easy, and only takes a small amount of effort. This can be done by a simple bequest in your will specifying an amount or percentage of your estate that would benefit a specific Catholic ministry, school, cemetery, parish fund or other charity. You can also designate a beneficiary to receive a gift from your IRA, 401(k), or other retirement plan. All of these are options on the FreeWill software if you so choose.

“I recently gave FreeWill a test run and updated my own will and directives. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the tool is to use. Another big plus was that all my information is completely confidential,” said Archbishop Christopher Coyne.  “I highly recommend this tool as a great free resource offered by the Vermont Catholic Community Foundation that not only makes updating your will easy but ensures your choices regarding Catholic advanced directives and funeral instructions.”