Gifts in wills

It is prudent to make a Will no matter how much you own because:

1. It ensures your wishes are followed after your death.

If you die without a Will, there are certain rules which dictate how the money, property or possessions should be allocated. This may not be the way that you would have wished your money and possessions to be distributed.

2. It makes things easier for your loved ones.

The clear instructions in a Will make it easier for your family or friends to sort everything out when you die. Without a Will the process can be much more time-consuming and stressful.

3. It can reduce inheritance tax.

When writing a Will, your solicitor can help you reduce the amount of inheritance tax that might be payable on the value of the property and money you leave behind. Leaving a gift to a charity is one way of reducing tax.

4. It is a chance to leave a positive legacy.

By deciding how your money and possessions are distributed, writing a Will gives you the opportunity to continue contributing to positive changes in the world after your death.

Always use a qualified solicitor.

To ensure your Will is legally binding and free from mistakes, which may cause confusion after your death, we recommend you always seek the help of a qualified solicitor when writing your Will.

A solicitor will charge for their services in drawing up or checking a Will. They should give you information about the cost of their services at the start of their work with you. Before deciding on who to use, it is always advisable to check with a few solicitors to find out how much they charge.

For help finding a local solicitor, you can contact The Law Society:

Telephone: 020 7242 1222

Website: www.lawsociety.org.uk

We recommend considering the following before meeting with your solicitor to save time and legal fees.

1. What do you have to leave?

Your estate is what you leave behind after you are gone. This is made up of everything you own, like money, property, and personal belongings. Your estate also includes your share of things that you own with other people. Anything you owe, for example a mortgage, is taken away from the total value of your estate. Try making a list of all your assets and what they’re worth before meeting your solicitor.

2. Who do you want to benefit?

You should also make a list of who you want to benefit from your estate after you die. This may include your partner or spouse, children, other family members, friends or charities.

3. How do you want to divide your estate?

You should also think about what you want to leave to each of these beneficiaries. The different types of gifts you can leave in a Will are detailed below in the next section.

4. Who do you want to look after your dependents?

If applicable, decide who you want to be the legal guardians of your children if both parents die when the children are under 18. It is also a good idea to plan for who will care for your pets after you die.

5. Do you want to protect your beneficiaries?

Sometimes you might want to set some safeguards on your bequest – for example, if you are leaving something to a child or someone with disabilities. Many people handle these issues by setting up Trusts – this means that what you leave can be managed by people you trust to act in the best interests of your beneficiary.

6. Who do you want to execute your Will?

To carry out the instructions of your Will, you will need to choose someone that you trust to be your executor. They can be solicitors who charge, or alternatively you may want to choose friends or family.

There are three types of gifts that you can leave to Avenues:

Residuary

A residuary gift is a share of your estate – a percentage of what is left after any taxes or costs have been subtracted. Because this gift is a percentage of your estate you do not need to worry if your financial situation changes.

Pecuniary

A pecuniary gift is a fixed amount of money, for example £5,000.

Specific

These are particular items, such as a house, stocks and shares or jewellery. Anything that is of value to you.

To continue to provide the best possible support to autistic people, people with learning disabilities, acquired brain injuries and complex support needs, we need to develop and adapt the support that we provide to meet individual needs. This means our priorities and areas of work can change, so it is advisable not to leave any restrictions on gifts you might leave Avenues. We always make sure that the people we support are paramount in our decisions on how best to allocate legacy gifts. We will make sure that your gift is spent where it is needed the most and can have the biggest impact.

You will not have to pay any inheritance tax if either:

• The total value of your estate is below £325,000.
• You leave everything above the £325,000 threshold to your spouse, civil partner, a charity or a community amateur sports club.

If you leave your home to your children (including adopted, foster or stepchildren) or grandchildren, your tax-free threshold increases to £500,000.

The standard inheritance tax rate is 40%. It’s only charged on the part of your estate that’s above the threshold. For example, if your estate is worth £500,000 and your tax-threshold is £325,000, the Inheritance Tax charged will be 40% of £175,000 (£500,000 minus £325,000).

If you leave your entire estate to charity, the gift would be completely free of inheritance tax. This means leaving just 10% of your taxable estate to Avenues can reduce your Inheritance Tax rate from 40% to 36%.

The above  information above was correct at the time of publishing. For the latest information on Inheritance Tax visit www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax. Please also speak with your solicitor.

If you would like to include Avenues in your Will, you can use the details below. Ask your solicitor to use our full name and details to ensure the gift reaches us:

The Avenues Trust Group – Registered Charity No: 1130473

Registered office for Avenues: The Avenues Trust, River House, 1 Maidstone Road, Sidcup, DA14 5TA

If you already have a Will and you feel you would like to add Avenues to your will (or any other charity), your solicitor can help you to add a form called a Codicil to your existing Will.

You do not need to tell Avenues if you have included us in your Will, but we would be delighted if you did so we can thank you for your generous support and keep you up to date with news.

Please email fundraising@avenuesgroup.org.uk. Please be assured that any information that you give to Avenues will be treated as strictly confidential.