Safewill to Give Away $1M Worth of Free Wills

Safewill, the online platform modernising Will-writing, has launched National Free Wills Week, aiming to give away $1 million worth of Wills to everyday Australians and raise $100m for Australian charities and not-for-profits in a single week.

From today until 26th March, anybody can access a Will free of charge through Safewill’s website. Safewill is encouraging Australians to donate part of their estate through a charitable gift in their Will to preserve a piece of their legacy with the causes and charities they care about the most.

Bequests are crucial for the Australian not-for-profit sector, accounting for over 20% of national fundraising.

In this one week, Safewill aims to raise $100 million for over 500 Australian charities. The company is the first online Wills company in Australia to work with Australian charities, with partners including the Guide Dogs, UNICEF, Fred Hollows Foundation, Cancer Council NSW, Camp Quality, RSPCA, Greyhound Rescue, Equality Australia, Safe Steps and Cerebral Palsy Alliance.

The impact initiative follows the success of last year, where the company’s first-ever Free Wills Week initiative gave away over $250,000 in free Wills and saw $50 million raised for Australian charities. This week alone, over 800 bequests were received, and over 200 charities received a charitable gift. Data from Safewill showed the number of charitable gifts increased 59 times in Free Wills Week compared to a normal week*, as more Australians looked to safeguard their life’s work and do good with zero cost. 

Adam Lubofsky, Founder and CEO of Safewill, commented: “Having a positive impact on society is something we've always sought to do in building our business, and we're proud that Free Wills Week is able to deliver on this. We hope this year we give away over $1 million of Wills, but that we generate many multiples of that in charitable gifts to Australia’s most important not-for-profit organisations.”

Online Will-writing has seen major growth in recent years, particularly during COVID when so many Australians were looking for peace of mind but could not visit a solicitor’s office. Despite this adoption, there is still a misconception that writing a Will is complicated and expensive. Safewill challenges that perception by making estate planning easier and more affordable than ever.

“Our platform is much more than the old school post office Will kits - anyone can pick up their phone and within 20 minutes have a personalised Will, enduring powers of attorney or even access specialist legal advice at the touch of a button. We’ve made the platform as affordable as possible because Will writing and estate planning shouldn’t be reserved for the wealthy.”, commented Adam Lubofsky, Founder and CEO of Safewill. 

Lubofsky set up Safewill in response to the unexpected loss of a friend who hadn’t created a Will, sparking the conversation on their importance. Since launching in 2019, over 80,000 Australians from all across the country have started their end-of-life planning journey with Safewill. Safewill has also seen an estimated $500 million in charitable bequests left on their platform to over 400 not-for-profit organisations in that time, making it one of the largest platforms for charitable fundraising in Australia.  

“There is a major opportunity for charities to build relationships with donors early, secure their commitment and be a meaningful beneficiary of the great wealth transfer that is currently underway. It also provides a modern approach to Wills for donors that can be created and updated at any time, anywhere”, added Lubofsky.

Deborah Thomas, CEO of Camp Quality, commented: “Free Wills Week is a great opportunity for us to give something back to our amazing supporters, as well as raise awareness of the importance of having a valid Will, something so many Australians still don’t have.”

A spokesperson from Greyhound Rescue added: “Most people don't like to think about leaving gifts in Wills, but it truly has a huge impact, especially for charities like ours. Bequests can give us the chance to do some of those bigger projects that we wouldn't otherwise be in a position to afford, which is an amazing legacy for people to leave.”

The modern approach by Safewill means individuals can start, complete and update their Will anytime, anywhere, with no lawyer fees, hidden costs or unnecessary appointments. It gives everyday Australians access to legal knowledge with modern technology, changing their current thinking around writing them.

Safewill is a Will writing platform that works alongside an affiliate law firm, Safewill Legal, which reviews every Will written through the Safewill platform.