At Jacksons we have recently signed up to the “Remember a Charity in Your Will Scheme” and we felt it important to highlight the part that charitable giving in Wills plays in the finances of many of our favourite charities.
We have always helped out charitable causes at Jacksons. Each February and September our Teesside Office proudly supports the Butterwick Hospice in their Wills Months and our Newcastle Office has recently signed up to the St Oswald’s Hospice Scheme which takes place in June of each year. During these months people who make an appointment mentioning the schemes are able to make a donation to the relevant hospice in lieu of making payment and this can enable the hospices to raise a great deal of fundraising and also the client is able to have their Wills drawn up at a cheaper rate.
There is still availability in terms of appointments for the St Oswald’s scheme if you would like to contact me in Newcastle for an appointment.
Any amount whether large or small can go towards helping your charity of choice in your Will and a clause inserting a charitable legacy in your Wills is not complex and it is something we have plenty of experience in drafting here at Jacksons.
Leaving a charitable legacy in your Will is tax free and in certain circumstances if your Will is likely to attract Inheritance Tax charitable giving can lessen or even extinguish the taxable element of your estate or in certain circumstances reduce the percentage of tax that you pay. The rules surrounding this however are quite complex and it is always helpful to obtain expert advice to ensure that the clauses in favour of the charitable causes are appropriately drafted to make the most of any available exemptions and reliefs.
If you are leaving all, or the majority, of your estate to multiple charities it is also worth considering who you would like as your executors. We at Jacksons are often appointed as Executors in these circumstances and have a great deal of experience in dealing with such estates, which as we have mentioned above can be quite complex due to the regulations governing such gifts in Wills.
We are also seeing an increase in people contesting Wills. Often where there is a family estrangement or disagreement people will wish to favour a favourite or prominent charity in their Will. After all in this country we do have what is known as Testamentary Freedom i.e. that we can leave what we have to who we want to leave it to. However recent case law – such as the case of Ilott where the RSPCA were favoured in a Will over the lady’s daughter – can end up in the courts where as in this case provision did end up being made for the daughter.
Therefore it is important to seek expert advice when making Wills such as this so that you can try and ensure that your Testamentary Freedom is upheld and the charity or charities that you wish to benefit can put your gift to good use.
For an appointment to discuss charitable gifts in wills further please contact a member of our Private Client team. Call 01642 356 500 if you live in the Stockton area or 0191 231 3921 if you live in Newcastle.
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