So often we hear of famous people leaving money to charity when they pass away. But they are not the only ones. Many people who prefer to remain anonymous provide for charities in their wills every year in the UK, which is not a surprise given the fact that 76% of British people donated money to charity in 2014.

Around £150 of every £1,000 received by charities in our country come from people’s legacies and donations are vital to continuing with the good work of these organisations.

It is important to mention that the only way in which people can leave money to charity after death is by making a will. You can always opt for three different types of legacies depending on what you want to leave to charity:

• A pecuniary legacy is the specific amount of money that you will donate after death
• A gift in kind can be any other possession which is not money, such a property or jewellery
• A residuary legacy is the gift of your estate (all or partial, depending on your choice) to a certain charity after all liabilities, taxes, debts… have been paid. This is the most valuable legacy for the charities.

The will needs to be revised every 5 years or so as your circumstances may have changed or  you might have simply changed your mind. If when reviewing your will you want to make additional legacies this can be done by what is known as a codicil.

A codicil is just a simple way to make changes or add something to your will while and leaving the rest of the will or assets untouched.

A will should always be prepared by a solicitor to avoid difficulty, meet all the legal requirements and avoid going to court if the will has not been correctly drafted. Should you need to write or review your will, do not hesitate to contact our expert team of solicitors.