Will you leave a gift to charity in your will?

If you’d like to pass on something wonderful by leaving a gift to charity in your will, we can help.

Our will writing experts will discuss your wishes and your requirements for donating to charity in your will. We’ll explain your options and ensure that your will covers multiple eventualities. When we have all the details about what your will requires, we’ll quote you a fixed price upfront for the agreed work and that price will not change. This is what we call a fixed fee will.

If you want to leave a gift or donation to a charity or an organisation in your will, you simply need to let us know what you would like them to receive and the name of the charity. This can be a fixed amount of money, a specific item or a share of your total estate.

We can then take care of the rest and draft your will, making sure that your wishes are clear. Any amount of money, a possession or a property left to people or charities in a will are called legacies. You can make a legacy in your will to virtually any person or organisation of your choice.

It’s very important to ensure that your will is written correctly and is legally valid, if it isn’t then your charity may not receive your legacy. For example, if you get married or you remarry, your will automatically becomes invalid unless it makes specific reference to your upcoming marriage.

If you die without a will, your estate (your home, car, bank accounts, investments and everything else you own) is distributed in accordance with the rules of intestacy. These rules make no mention of donations to any organisations (charitable or otherwise), and if you have no living family members, all your property and possessions will go to the Crown.

Charitable legacies

Charitable legacies in wills currently account for the largest proportion of voluntary donations to charity. Without this income, charities would have to cut services and many would simply not exist. By making a will you can donate to charity.