Wills Week with Westpac Rescue

THE Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service ‘Wills Week’ initiative kicks off this week, with almost $200,000 already raised towards the Service.

Twelve solicitors in the Upper Hunter will spend this week helping residents prepare or update their wills and have donated all of their usual appointment fees to Westpac Rescue.

Richard Jones, Westpac Rescue CEO said the Wills Week partnership is about offering a service to supporters of Westpac Rescue for a long time.

“It’s been an outstanding success. We thank all of the lawyers and companies that have offered their time, it’s blown us out of the water,” Mr Jones said.

“It’s a good thing for individuals to get a will, I must confess I have also taken the opportunity to get a will done,” he said.

“It’s just a great initiative. It’s been big in the Northern Rivers in past years but we’ve broadened it to other parts of our business, the greater Hunter and New England regions,” he said.

The ‘Wills Week’ initiative also allows people to consider bequest donations, which the Service sees as an incredible act of generosity and gift of a lasting legacy for the community.

Money raised from donated solicitor fees and bequest donations will go towards assisting and maintaining the service.

“There’s no commitment whatsoever that people have to leave a portion of their estate to the helicopter, that’s not the purpose of this because people have their own circumstances,”

“The money will go towards assisting the run and organisation of the service at every level to make sure we can continue to do our job,” Mr Jones said.

“It’s a really busy time at the moment, like all of the emergency services were sort of holding our breath and hoping this weather goes away as soon as possible,” he said.

“Sadly with the state of the weather sometimes the aircraft cant get off the ground but when we’re available we’ll certainly be there for the community,” said Mr Jones.

Upper Hunter local solicitors participating in Wills Week 

• Branxton: Shaw Bunner Legal;
• Cessnock: Coutts Lawyers & Conveyancers;
• Cessnock: Emery Partners;
• Dungog: Amy Martin Legal;
• Kurri Kurri: McAllister Legal Service;
• Muswellbrook: Curtis Gant Betts Solicitors;
• Muswellbrook:  Hoffman & Associates;
• Scone: Kate Mailer Solicitor;
• Singleton: 22Ten Legal;
• Singleton: Aqua Legal & Conveyancing;
• Singleton: CDG Law;
• Singleton: Umbrella Legal.