September 7, 2026
We would probably all like to think that, in some way, we will leave a legacy.
During our lives, we do that in countless ways. Through our families and friendships, the careers we build, the people we help, the businesses we create, the time we give and the contribution we make to our community.
Some legacies are significant and very visible. Most are much quieter. They are found in the people we have helped along the way, the opportunities we have created for others, the values we have passed on to our children and the organisations and causes we have supported.
But our ability to make a difference does not necessarily have to end when we do.
That is one of the messages behind Jersey Legacy Week, which takes place from 7–13 September 2026. This year's theme, “Leave a Better Tomorrow,” encourages us to think about whether part of the legacy we leave behind could continue supporting the people, charities and causes that mattered to us during our lifetime.
At BCR Law, it is something we are increasingly seeing as part of conversations with clients about their Wills.
For most people, those conversations quite rightly begin with family. Making sure a spouse or partner is provided for, thinking about children and grandchildren, deciding who should administer the estate and ensuring that your wishes are properly recorded.
But once those important decisions have been made, there is increasingly another question: is there something or someone else I would like to help after I have gone?
It might be a charity that supported you or somebody you love at a difficult time. It might be a cause you have supported throughout your life. It could relate to health, children, animals, education, sport, the environment or simply an organisation that you believe makes Jersey a better place.
It can actually be relatively straightforward.
A pecuniary legacy leaves a fixed sum of money to a chosen charity. A specific legacy can leave a particular asset. Alternatively, a residuary legacy leaves a percentage or share of what remains in an estate once liabilities, expenses and other gifts have been dealt with.
The latter can be particularly attractive because rather than committing to a particular monetary amount today, you can decide that a percentage of your eventual estate should go to a cause you care about.
You can, of course, support more than one charity.
Whatever you decide, it is important that the Will properly identifies the intended organisation and records exactly what you want to happen. Careful drafting can also anticipate what should happen if, many years from now, a charity has changed its name, merged with another organisation or no longer exists.
Perhaps the other useful thing about Jersey Legacy Week is that it gives all of us a reason to think about something we are very good at putting off; our Wills.
If you have one, when did you last read it?
Does it still reflect your life today? Families change. Children and grandchildren arrive. Relationships change. We buy and sell homes, establish businesses, accumulate different assets and investments and, quite simply, our priorities change as we get older.
And if you don't have a Will at all, this might be a very good week to finally do something about it.
At BCR Law, our Wills and Estates team can sit down with you and have that conversation. You don't need to arrive knowing precisely what you want to do or understanding all the legal terminology. We can talk through your family circumstances, your assets, the people you want to protect and, if you wish, the charities and causes you would like to remember.
Because making a Will isn't really about contemplating death.
It is about deciding what happens to the things you have spent a lifetime building, and perhaps allowing some of the things you cared about during your life to continue after it.
We all leave something behind. The people who remember us. The values we pass on. The things we achieved. The difference, however large or small, that we made to other people's lives.
And, with a little planning, our ability to make that difference can continue long after we are gone.
So during Jersey Legacy Week, 7–13 September, perhaps take half an hour to find your Will and read it again. Or, if you have never made one, decide that this is the week you finally start.
Come and speak to the Wills and Estates team at BCR Law.
We would probably all like to think that, in some way, we will leave a legacy.
During our lives, we do that in countless ways. Through our families and friendships, the careers we build, the people we help, the businesses we create, the time we give and the contribution we make to our community.
Some legacies are significant and very visible. Most are much quieter. They are found in the people we have helped along the way, the opportunities we have created for others, the values we have passed on to our children and the organisations and causes we have supported.
But our ability to make a difference does not necessarily have to end when we do.
That is one of the messages behind Jersey Legacy Week, which takes place from 7–13 September 2026. This year's theme, “Leave a Better Tomorrow,” encourages us to think about whether part of the legacy we leave behind could continue supporting the people, charities and causes that mattered to us during our lifetime.
At BCR Law, it is something we are increasingly seeing as part of conversations with clients about their Wills.
For most people, those conversations quite rightly begin with family. Making sure a spouse or partner is provided for, thinking about children and grandchildren, deciding who should administer the estate and ensuring that your wishes are properly recorded.
But once those important decisions have been made, there is increasingly another question: is there something or someone else I would like to help after I have gone?
It might be a charity that supported you or somebody you love at a difficult time. It might be a cause you have supported throughout your life. It could relate to health, children, animals, education, sport, the environment or simply an organisation that you believe makes Jersey a better place.
It can actually be relatively straightforward.
A pecuniary legacy leaves a fixed sum of money to a chosen charity. A specific legacy can leave a particular asset. Alternatively, a residuary legacy leaves a percentage or share of what remains in an estate once liabilities, expenses and other gifts have been dealt with.
The latter can be particularly attractive because rather than committing to a particular monetary amount today, you can decide that a percentage of your eventual estate should go to a cause you care about.
You can, of course, support more than one charity.
Whatever you decide, it is important that the Will properly identifies the intended organisation and records exactly what you want to happen. Careful drafting can also anticipate what should happen if, many years from now, a charity has changed its name, merged with another organisation or no longer exists.
Perhaps the other useful thing about Jersey Legacy Week is that it gives all of us a reason to think about something we are very good at putting off; our Wills.
If you have one, when did you last read it?
Does it still reflect your life today? Families change. Children and grandchildren arrive. Relationships change. We buy and sell homes, establish businesses, accumulate different assets and investments and, quite simply, our priorities change as we get older.
And if you don't have a Will at all, this might be a very good week to finally do something about it.
At BCR Law, our Wills and Estates team can sit down with you and have that conversation. You don't need to arrive knowing precisely what you want to do or understanding all the legal terminology. We can talk through your family circumstances, your assets, the people you want to protect and, if you wish, the charities and causes you would like to remember.
Because making a Will isn't really about contemplating death.
It is about deciding what happens to the things you have spent a lifetime building, and perhaps allowing some of the things you cared about during your life to continue after it.
We all leave something behind. The people who remember us. The values we pass on. The things we achieved. The difference, however large or small, that we made to other people's lives.
And, with a little planning, our ability to make that difference can continue long after we are gone.
So during Jersey Legacy Week, 7–13 September, perhaps take half an hour to find your Will and read it again. Or, if you have never made one, decide that this is the week you finally start.
Come and speak to the Wills and Estates team at BCR Law.
We would probably all like to think that, in some way, we will leave a legacy.
During our lives, we do that in countless ways. Through our families and friendships, the careers we build, the people we help, the businesses we create, the time we give and the contribution we make to our community.
Some legacies are significant and very visible. Most are much quieter. They are found in the people we have helped along the way, the opportunities we have created for others, the values we have passed on to our children and the organisations and causes we have supported.
But our ability to make a difference does not necessarily have to end when we do.
That is one of the messages behind Jersey Legacy Week, which takes place from 7–13 September 2026. This year's theme, “Leave a Better Tomorrow,” encourages us to think about whether part of the legacy we leave behind could continue supporting the people, charities and causes that mattered to us during our lifetime.
At BCR Law, it is something we are increasingly seeing as part of conversations with clients about their Wills.
For most people, those conversations quite rightly begin with family. Making sure a spouse or partner is provided for, thinking about children and grandchildren, deciding who should administer the estate and ensuring that your wishes are properly recorded.
But once those important decisions have been made, there is increasingly another question: is there something or someone else I would like to help after I have gone?
It might be a charity that supported you or somebody you love at a difficult time. It might be a cause you have supported throughout your life. It could relate to health, children, animals, education, sport, the environment or simply an organisation that you believe makes Jersey a better place.
It can actually be relatively straightforward.
A pecuniary legacy leaves a fixed sum of money to a chosen charity. A specific legacy can leave a particular asset. Alternatively, a residuary legacy leaves a percentage or share of what remains in an estate once liabilities, expenses and other gifts have been dealt with.
The latter can be particularly attractive because rather than committing to a particular monetary amount today, you can decide that a percentage of your eventual estate should go to a cause you care about.
You can, of course, support more than one charity.
Whatever you decide, it is important that the Will properly identifies the intended organisation and records exactly what you want to happen. Careful drafting can also anticipate what should happen if, many years from now, a charity has changed its name, merged with another organisation or no longer exists.
Perhaps the other useful thing about Jersey Legacy Week is that it gives all of us a reason to think about something we are very good at putting off; our Wills.
If you have one, when did you last read it?
Does it still reflect your life today? Families change. Children and grandchildren arrive. Relationships change. We buy and sell homes, establish businesses, accumulate different assets and investments and, quite simply, our priorities change as we get older.
And if you don't have a Will at all, this might be a very good week to finally do something about it.
At BCR Law, our Wills and Estates team can sit down with you and have that conversation. You don't need to arrive knowing precisely what you want to do or understanding all the legal terminology. We can talk through your family circumstances, your assets, the people you want to protect and, if you wish, the charities and causes you would like to remember.
Because making a Will isn't really about contemplating death.
It is about deciding what happens to the things you have spent a lifetime building, and perhaps allowing some of the things you cared about during your life to continue after it.
We all leave something behind. The people who remember us. The values we pass on. The things we achieved. The difference, however large or small, that we made to other people's lives.
And, with a little planning, our ability to make that difference can continue long after we are gone.
So during Jersey Legacy Week, 7–13 September, perhaps take half an hour to find your Will and read it again. Or, if you have never made one, decide that this is the week you finally start.
Come and speak to the Wills and Estates team at BCR Law.
We would probably all like to think that, in some way, we will leave a legacy.
During our lives, we do that in countless ways. Through our families and friendships, the careers we build, the people we help, the businesses we create, the time we give and the contribution we make to our community.
Some legacies are significant and very visible. Most are much quieter. They are found in the people we have helped along the way, the opportunities we have created for others, the values we have passed on to our children and the organisations and causes we have supported.
But our ability to make a difference does not necessarily have to end when we do.
That is one of the messages behind Jersey Legacy Week, which takes place from 7–13 September 2026. This year's theme, “Leave a Better Tomorrow,” encourages us to think about whether part of the legacy we leave behind could continue supporting the people, charities and causes that mattered to us during our lifetime.
At BCR Law, it is something we are increasingly seeing as part of conversations with clients about their Wills.
For most people, those conversations quite rightly begin with family. Making sure a spouse or partner is provided for, thinking about children and grandchildren, deciding who should administer the estate and ensuring that your wishes are properly recorded.
But once those important decisions have been made, there is increasingly another question: is there something or someone else I would like to help after I have gone?
It might be a charity that supported you or somebody you love at a difficult time. It might be a cause you have supported throughout your life. It could relate to health, children, animals, education, sport, the environment or simply an organisation that you believe makes Jersey a better place.
It can actually be relatively straightforward.
A pecuniary legacy leaves a fixed sum of money to a chosen charity. A specific legacy can leave a particular asset. Alternatively, a residuary legacy leaves a percentage or share of what remains in an estate once liabilities, expenses and other gifts have been dealt with.
The latter can be particularly attractive because rather than committing to a particular monetary amount today, you can decide that a percentage of your eventual estate should go to a cause you care about.
You can, of course, support more than one charity.
Whatever you decide, it is important that the Will properly identifies the intended organisation and records exactly what you want to happen. Careful drafting can also anticipate what should happen if, many years from now, a charity has changed its name, merged with another organisation or no longer exists.
Perhaps the other useful thing about Jersey Legacy Week is that it gives all of us a reason to think about something we are very good at putting off; our Wills.
If you have one, when did you last read it?
Does it still reflect your life today? Families change. Children and grandchildren arrive. Relationships change. We buy and sell homes, establish businesses, accumulate different assets and investments and, quite simply, our priorities change as we get older.
And if you don't have a Will at all, this might be a very good week to finally do something about it.
At BCR Law, our Wills and Estates team can sit down with you and have that conversation. You don't need to arrive knowing precisely what you want to do or understanding all the legal terminology. We can talk through your family circumstances, your assets, the people you want to protect and, if you wish, the charities and causes you would like to remember.
Because making a Will isn't really about contemplating death.
It is about deciding what happens to the things you have spent a lifetime building, and perhaps allowing some of the things you cared about during your life to continue after it.
We all leave something behind. The people who remember us. The values we pass on. The things we achieved. The difference, however large or small, that we made to other people's lives.
And, with a little planning, our ability to make that difference can continue long after we are gone.
So during Jersey Legacy Week, 7–13 September, perhaps take half an hour to find your Will and read it again. Or, if you have never made one, decide that this is the week you finally start.
Come and speak to the Wills and Estates team at BCR Law.