On this page:

'Why I'm leaving a legacy in my will' by Bipolar UK's CEO Simon Kitchen

---

There are over one million people with bipolar in the UK and it takes an average of 9.5 years to get a diagnosis. Tragically, someone living with bipolar is 20 times more likely to take their own life than someone living without the condition. This is why the work of Bipolar UK is so important.

Gifts in wills are vital for our work. A gift in your will helps us develop our peer support and specialist services, research, policy work, and public engagement ensuring future generations of people living with bipolar and their families will continue to be supported.

A legacy is a wonderful way to support Bipolar UK, but please don’t make a decision to leave a legacy if you are currently unwell. If you are in crisis, you can find sources of support here

Making or updating your will is easy and affordable

Bipolar UK has partnered with Farewill to offer a free will writing service that allows you to write or update your will in as little as 15 minutes. Farewill has won multiple awards for its service. Every will is checked by their specialist team, ensuring your wishes are clear.

Wills can be made online or over the phone if you are aged 18 or older.

If you live in England or Wales, you can make your will online or on the phone.

If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can make your will on the phone.

Please enter the free code Bipolar-23 at the checkout.

For more details, email [email protected]

---

Why I’m leaving a legacy in my will

By Simon Kitchen, Bipolar UK CEO

I never met my brother-in-law, Kevin. He had died before I met my wife. Kevin had an interesting life – he struggled at school but landed a position on Jamie Oliver’s TV series Fifteen. He loved it and became a talented chef who enjoyed experimenting with new ingredients, tastes and flavours. Some worked out better than others. One Christmas my wife was overeager and smothered her entire dinner in an Avant Garde green ‘jus’ he had made which proved revolting and made the whole meal inedible.

Kevin sadly had to give up cooking after finding the heat of the kitchen was damaging his already vulnerable hearing. He was retraining and heading to university in Lancaster when he had a severe manic episode. He sought help but it was too late and he was eventually sectioned, pinned down by multiple staff and had his phone confiscated. This troubled experience left an acute scar in Kevin’s psyche.

Heart-breaking news

Soon afterwards he went missing. His connection with Fifteen and friendship with Jamie Oliver meant his disappearance attracted national news coverage and a local manhunt. Tragically he was found several months later, having taken his own life.

Kevin’s loss left a huge hole in my family and a lot of soul searching. My wife had had a difficult relationship with her brother, and it was only after he died that she found out he had been living with bipolar. Stigma and diagnostic despair meant that Kevin had never felt confident enough to open up about his diagnosis. They therefore never found the coping strategies and approaches for how they could build a strong relationship – which is so important for people living with the condition.

The impact of suicide

After his death my wife had to take several months off work and undertook hours of volunteering to come to terms with what had happened. Each suicide costs society an average of £1.6 million with most of that cost borne by the friends and families of the person who died in lost employment and grief.

Leaving a donation in memory

While I never got to meet Kevin it’s an honour to leave a small legacy in our will to Bipolar UK in his memory. It’s the money we would have left to him if he had still been alive. The money will go on peer support services that would have helped Kevin feel less alone with his diagnosis. Importantly our services also welcome family and friends so if there is a sister out there like Naomi, who would like to learn how to support their brother with bipolar, they can come along and be with likeminded people.

We can’t bring Kevin back but by leaving a legacy we hope that other families won’t have to go through what we did.

---

Last updated: 2 February 2023