How to leave a legacy
Leaving a legacy doesn't have to be complicated. We've put together some simple steps and advice which we hope will help you through the process. If, after reading this page, you are interested in leaving a legacy, please contact us in confidence.
Choosing a solicitor
The Suffolk Punch Trust strongly recommends that you use a solicitor to draw up your will. The cost is not high, but getting your wishes correctly recorded now will save an enormous amount of time and expense for your executors or relatives. If you do draw up your own Will, it could easily prove to be invalid, and could cause a great deal of anxiety for your loved ones who may not benefit from your estate in the way you originally intended.
You can find a solicitor by asking friends for a recommendation or simply by phoning a firm listed in your local telephone directory.
The Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners (STEPS) can provide you with details of solicitors throughout England & Wales who specialise in this area. Their number is 020 7838 4890.
Thinking about what you have to leave
Before going to see your solicitor, draw up a list of your assets and liabilities.
Consider:
- Your home and any other property (including any outstanding mortgages)
- Your car (including any outstanding loans and hire purchase agreements)
- Furniture and household effects
- Jewellery and other individual items
- Cash in your bank/building society account
- National Savings and/or other savings schemes
- Stocks and shares
- Insurance policies and other death benefits (i.e. Pensions)
Preparing a list of your assets and liabilities prior to meeting with your solicitor will help you determine the approximate value of your estate and decide to whom you wish to distribute it.
This will also help you to assess if you need further advice on inheritance tax planning (IHT) if your total estate is above the IHT threshold. Currently, if your estate is worth over £242,000 you may need to take steps to reduce your liability to tax.
Gifts to charity are exempt from IHT and could help reduce your liability to tax.
Choosing who you wish to benefit from your estate
If you have children and immediate family, you will need to secure their future first. Your solicitor will also be able to advise you on reducing your liability to inheritance tax and on appointing guardians or setting up a trust for any dependent children.
After ensuring your loved ones have been properly provided for, you may choose to leave a bequest to your favourite charity. We hope that you will consider the suffolk Punch Trust if you do decide to include a gift in your Will. All legacies to charity are completely free of inheritance tax. Your solicitor will be able to advise you on all aspects of inheritance tax.
You can leave a gift in one of several ways:
- Residuary bequest - what is left of your estate after all your other wishes have been carried out and expenses in finalising your estate have been met
- Pecuniary bequest - a specific sum of money
- Specific bequest - a particular item of value, such as jewellery or an antique
- Conditional bequest - what is left of your estate after all your other wishes have been carried out and expenses in finalising your estate have been met
Completing the formalities
You will need to appoint one or more executors. These are the people who will ensure that your wishes are carried out. Often your solicitor together with a family member or close friend will act as your executors. It is important when choosing your executors that one is a generation younger than yourself, to avoid the possibility of your outliving them.
Finally, you need to arrange to sign your will and have your signature formally witnessed. Remember, that someone who is benefiting from your Will is unable to act as a witness. If they do so any gift you may have left to that individual could prove invalid.
Keep your will safe!
Your will should be kept in a safe place, and you should tell your family and/or executors where to find it along with any funeral instructions. It is very important to keep it up-to-date, taking account of changes in your personal circumstances, for instance if you divorce, remarry, are widowed, become a grandparent or if one of your executors dies or perhaps moves abroad.
Finding the right words
If you would like to leave a legacy gift to the Suffolk Punch Trust, please speak to your solicitor about having this included within your will. You may wish to print this page and take it with you when you meet with your solicitor.
Here are some examples of specimen words you may find useful if you wish to donate:
A Pecuniary Gift (a specific sum):
"I give free of inheritance tax to The Suffolk Punch Trust whose Registered Office is situated at insert Trust’s Registered Office postal address, Registered Charity No.1100596: the sum of ... (in words) pounds, £000000 ... (figures) for the general charitable purposes of the Trust, and I declare that the receipt of the Honorary Treasurer or other authorised official for the time being shall be a good discharge to my Executors".
A Residuary Gift (the remains of your estate after any specific gifts have been distributed and any debts have been paid):
"I give free of inheritance tax the residue of my estate to The Suffolk Punch Trust, whose Registered Office is situated at insert Trust’s Registered Office postal address, Registered Charity No. 1100596, for the general charitable purposes of the Trust and I declare that the receipt of the Honorary Treasurer or other authorised official for the time being shall be a good discharge to my Executors."