Writing your Will is an important way of looking after the future of your family and friends. After you have taken care of loved ones, you may wish to leave a gift in your Will to your favourite charity.

It is a little known fact that most charities would not survive without gifts in Wills. By remembering your favourite charity in this way, you are ensuring that their good work lives on.

If you choose to leave a gift to a good cause you should make a note of the official charity name, address and registered charity number to give to your professional adviser when writing a Will.

If you want to leave a gift to a charity but have already made a Will, it is not a problem. There are a couple of ways you can change it:

A New Will

The first and probably simplest way is to write a new Will. Once written, it makes any Wills made by that person in the past void. In fact, most Wills start by reciting that you are writing a Will and that you are revoking previous Wills.

Codicils

A codicil is a document used to change a Will that has already been made.

It is used as a way to make simple additions or amendments to an existing Will like a change in the amount of a gift of money, or the addition of an executor or gift. This is all quite straightforward but problems can occur if you ever want to cancel the Will in the future.

When you cancel a Will which contains a codicil, the codicil does not get cancelled automatically, so when you write a new Will it can create inconsistencies and legal problems. To avoid this, make sure that any new Will clearly states that you are revoking all Wills and codicils previously made.

Types of Legacy and Wording

There are a few different kinds of gift you can leave in your Will. The most common are:

Residuary bequest

A gift of the remainder of the estate after all other bequests have been made and debts cleared.

Pecuniary bequest

A gift of a fixed sum of money in your Will.

The value of pecuniary legacies will decrease over time, as the cost of living increases.

Specific bequest

A particular named item left as a gift in your Will.

Contingent bequest

A gift in your Will that depends upon the occurrence of an event which may or may not happen.

Leave a Legacy to German Shepherd Rescue Elite

If you wish to leave a legacy to GSRE, these are the details you will need to give to your professional adviser who is preparing your Will:

Official charity name:

German Shepherd Rescue Elite Limited

Registered charity address:

Gravelle Hatch House, Malacca Farm, West Clandon, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 7UQ

Registered charity number:

1150928

Example codicil to leave a legacy of a specific amount

Example codicil to leave a legacy of residuary estate

Alternatively, why not make use of Free Wills who will walk you through the process. Just click on the image below!