When you leave a gift in your Will to York & Scarborough Hospitals Charity, you’re saying thank you in a way that will carry on making a difference long after you’re gone.
Whether it’s being there for our wonderful NHS staff, providing cutting-edge equipment, or driving innovative research to benefit future generations.
When you leave a gift in your Will, you can choose which hospital, department or ward you would like your gift to benefit.
So please, write a forever thank you into your Will, by leaving a gift to York & Scarborough Hospitals Charity.
Ways to leave a gift in your Will
How you decide to support the charity is entirely up to you, for example, you may choose to leave the charity a sum of money or a share of your estate. You may also decide to allocate part or the entire residue of your estate to the charity so you do not have to decide on a specific sum. If you wish for your donation to be spent in a specific ward or department of the hospital please make this known in your Will, however, many people leave it to the overall charitable fund so we can support the areas which need it the most.
There are four main types of legacies which include:
- Residuary legacy - This is the remainder of your estate after all other gifts have been made. This is often a popular way to leave a legacy as all other gifts have been given first and it is expressed as a fraction of your estate so it retains its value over time. This can be anything from 1% to 100%.
- Pecuniary legacy - This is a fixed amount of money left to the charity. The amount of money may fall due to inflation so we do advise you to review the amount regularly.
- Specific legacy - This is a gift of a specific possession such as jewellery, antiques, land or buildings.
- Reversionary legacy - This allows you to leave your estate to your dependants while they are living, but after they pass away it will revert to the charity. For example, you may leave your house to your first beneficiary but after their death, the house passes to the second beneficiary which could be the charity.
Frequently asked questions
Making a Will ensures that your estate is distributed amongst those you wish to receive something, and you can also decide exactly what and how much they receive.
If you do not have a Will, family members may have to pay inheritance tax. For example, if the total value of your estate is over £325,000 (the current inheritance tax threshold), your beneficiaries will have to pay 40% inheritance tax on the amount over £325,000. This means that if your estate is worth over £325,000, your beneficiaries will only keep £6,000 out of every extra £10,000 that you leave.
Leaving a gift in your Will to a charity is tax efficient as charities are generally exempt from paying inheritance tax. This is often a help to people to ensure they stay within the inheritance tax threshold (which is set by the Government). Please ensure you speak to a solicitor regarding any questions you have about inheritance tax and making your Will.
If you already have a Will, it is important that you keep it up to date. Fortunately, making changes to an existing Will is very straightforward.
If you want to add York & Scarborough Hospitals Charity to an existing Will, your solicitor simply attaches a written instruction called a codicil. This must be done by your solicitor - don't make changes yourself as you may inadvertently invalidate your Will. The codicil form will need the signature of two independent witnesses.
If there are a number of changes you want to make, it may be better to make a new Will, which your solicitor can help you with.
We would always recommend that you gain quotes from solicitors if you are unsure of the costs of producing a Will and the cost can depend on how complicated your affairs and wishes are. A solicitor will ensure all legal procedures are followed and answer any questions you may have. If you do not already have a solicitor you can contact The Law Society on 020 7242 1222 or visit www.lawsociety.org.uk.
We also advise contacting your solicitor to make any changes to your Will or if you wish to include a gift to York & Scarborough Hospitals Charity. Once you have made your Will you need to keep it safe. Keep a copy for yourself and make sure your executors know where to find it but we advise that you leave the original Will with your solicitor.
A suggested form of wording for your solicitor to include in the Will is, "I give the sum of £... free of tax to York & Scarborough Hospitals Charity, or its successor, as the trustees of York & Scarborough Hospitals Charity (registered charity number 1054527), for the general purpose of that charity." If the gift is for a specific purpose, the following wording should be added, "without imposing any trust, I desire such sum to be used for..."
