Don’t forget the charities when writing a Will

Published: 25/07/2013

People are being encouraged to remember charities in their Will as budget cuts threaten the extinction of nearly one in ten.

A recent survey involving over 1000 charity professionals from the Guardian’s voluntary sector has found than 8.5% of its respondents did not believe they would still be in operation by 2018 while 18% had real concerns about their short and long term futures.

The fears stem from welfare reforms and the scheduled cuts to council budgets from 2015. As a result charities could see funding disproportionally cut by £2.1bn.

Linda Cummins, Head of Wills and Probate at Goldsmith Williams, explains the potential benefits of naming a charity in your Will:

“According to Remember a Charity 74% of the UK population donate money to a charity at some point during their lifetime. However this practice is not something which is mirrored in death.

“Despite the fact that 35% of people, when asked, said they would happily leave a charity a gift in their Will, only 7% actually go on and do so. However there are some significant financial benefits of leaving charitable gifts in your Will one of which comes from the Legacy10 initiative.

“Legacy10 is an independent campaign aimed at encouraging people to leave 10% of their estate to charity. Those who do will have any potential Inheritance Tax charges cut from 40% to 36%.”

Click here for more information about Legacy10 or for help minimising your Inheritance Tax liability contact our dedicated Wills and Estate Planning team.

Content correct at time of publication