Leaving a Legacy

Apr 21, 2015

Deciding to leave a legacy to a charity in your Will can have a number of benefits.

First and foremost, it can be a way to ensure that your memory lives on by doing good work after you die. You might have strong affiliations with a charity in your lifetime and perhaps they are working towards a specific goal, which you may wish to leave a legacy.

Although many people say that they would be happy to leave a legacy to their chosen charity in their Will, in reality about 7 per cent of people do. Many charities rely heavily on legacy donations, which can make up between 20 per cent and 50 per cent of their income annually; so seriously considering leaving a legacy can make a very real difference.

Choosing a charity to leave a legacy should be the easy part, but it is important that when you are making your Will that you take with you the name of the charity, its registered charity number and its address. This ensures that there is no confusion over similarly named charities when your Will is read.

In addition to deciding on the charity, you should also decide on the amount you wish to leave as a legacy. There are some considerations to take into account. There are inheritance tax benefits to be had when making a donation to charity in your Will. You can pay a reduced amount of 36 per cent inheritance tax, instead of 40 per cent, when you make a 10 per cent (or more) donation to charity.

Therefore, it may be sensible to work through the size and value of your estate before making a decision about how much you want to leave as a legacy. You may even decide that you want to suggest a use for your legacy and this can be stipulated at the time you make your legacy.

One thing is for sure, if you have a charity close to your heart, you could continue to make a big difference to that charity even after you die.

If you would like to discuss leaving a legacy to a charity in your Will, please get in touch today. You can call our Andover based expert Gareth Horner on 01264 325834 who will be happy to assist you.


Return to News