Do You Really Know Who You Are Leaving Your Charitable Legacy To In Your Will?

Including a Charitable legacy in your Will is a generous and meaningful way to continue to make an impact after your death.  It is important to think about who or what organisation will actually receive the legacy.

This decision needs careful thought and consideration.

National Charities vs Local Charities

When leaving money to a Charity in your Will, you need to decide whether to support a National Charity or a Local Charity.

National Charities operate on a broader scale and it may mean that your legacy is mixed with others to support large programs or initiatives that impact a wider number of people.  In one respect, you could be assisting many but in another respect, this may feel impersonal.  Consider if your legacy is benefiting the specific causes that you wish it to.

Local Charities generally work within specific communities focusing on a much smaller scale.  A legacy left to a Local Charity can feel more personal and the Local Communities may even be able to see what impact your legacy has made in the years ahead.

Many Charities have a National Charity with local franchises/offices/branches.  However, if you only name the National Charity in your Will without specifying a specific branch, your legacy might go to the main National Charity instead and you may not want this to happen.  You can include directions or requests in your Will such as “I leave the sum of £10,000 to [Charity] and I DIRECT that this sum is used for [a named specific purpose].

Directions are mandatory and the Charity can only accept the gift to use it for that purpose.  This can, however, cause difficulties if it is not possible to use the money for that purpose and the Charity may end up holding funds they cannot use.  If a gift is left with a direction to use it, for example, in the Northampton Branch but that Branch has closed down, the gift will fail.

If a gift is made with a Request, it is not mandatory so the Charity can accept the gift and try and respect the wishes of the Testator by using the funds in the way they were intended.

When choosing your Charity, make sure to:

• Research the Charity well on the Charity Commission website and ensure that you have read the governing document and use of its funds
• See if a Local Branch has a different Charity number and registered address
• Be specific in your Will by clearly stating the name, Branch and registered Charity you wish to support
• Consider wording such as “[charity name, for the purpose of supporting cancer research” or “for its general purposes]”
• Consider directions or requests
• Regularly review your Will – sometimes Charities merge or even dissolve
• Instruct a Solicitor to ensure that your Will is drafted correctly and that your legacy will be directed to the correct Charity

If you would like to review your current Will or get some advice for a new Will please contact us here, or call 0800 088 6004