Legacy income is crucial to Hospice at Home West Cumbria. Legacies are vital if we are to be able to continue to expand and develop our services to meet the needs of the people in West Cumbria today and in the future.
Leaving a gift in your Will to a charity is not something that will suit everybody, and the most important thing anybody can do in their Will is to make proper provision for their family. However, leaving a gift to a charity doesn’t mean that family members have to be excluded. A gift in Will does not have to be a large sum – many are under £1,000. They are, however, very important to us.
Inheritance Tax is much in the news. Any bequest to a charity does not form part of your tax free allowance – you can leave the full tax free sum to relatives and still give a bequest to a charity tax free.
There are two ways to leave money to a charity in a Will. You can either;
- specify the amount you want to give
or
- you can leave a residuary legacy which means that, once all other bequests and expenses have been paid everything that is left will go to your chosen charity.
A residuary legacy has the advantage that you can be sure that your family is properly cared for first.
A final thought – did you know that if you leave a gift in your Will to a charity you can expect to live 3 years longer than if you don’t!! At least, that’s what the statisticians tell us – sorry no guarantees with this one!
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