Over 50 per cent of people who live in the South East of England have not made a will, according to new figures.

The stats, which were released by Macmillan, revealed that more than 245,000 adults in the county ‘don’t know how to go about it’, ‘can’t afford it’ or ‘will do it later’.

Following the news, Macmillan Cancer Support has launched the ‘Today’s the Day’ campaign which aims to help people overcome their excuses and alleviate the stress of organising a will.

They will do this by offering adults all over the country a free will.

Craig Fordham, Macmillan’s director of legacies said: “The charity hopes people signing up for its free will service will also choose to leave a gift in their will to Macmillan, but it’s not a condition of taking up the offer.

“We’ve made making a simple, standard will free, easy and quick for most people by using one of our highly-regarded will-writing partners.

“This will help people make sure their family and friends, and the charities they care about, receive what they want to give them.

“There is no obligation to leave a gift in your will to Macmillan, but we do hope that after looking after your loved ones, you’ll consider leaving a percentage to Macmillan as well.”

The charity then added that the loss of a loved one who has not got a will, or an up-to-date will, can lead to ‘chaos, confusion or distress’, to all those affected, as they’ll have the responsibility of sorting out the deceased's estate and finances.

The project is aiming to take all of that away.

Without a will, the laws of intestacy decide what happens to the deceased’s money and possessions, including who becomes the guardian of children aged under the age of 18.

Craig then added: “With nearly one in two people likely to receive a cancer diagnosis at some time in their lives, the number of people living with cancer will increase, leading to more demand for our support.

“Leaving a gift in your will is one of the biggest differences you can make to help people with cancer live life as fully as they can.”

For more information, visit www.macmillan.org.uk