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Will to Make a Difference
Over the past few weeks you may have seen or read a lot in the media about the importance of charitable gifts in Wills.
Each year somewhere in the region of just over 34,000 people leave part or all of their Estate to charity each year. This means an amazing £2 billion plus is given each year to support good works - a remarkable sum. However, only around 1 in 15 Wills contain a charitable gift, and that is just under 7%. Just think what could be achieved if we could get an additional 1% of the population, never mind 4% as mentioned in the extract from the Remember-a-Charity website below, to include such a gift in their Will. Once you start thinking about including a charitable gift in your Will, you will normally find there is more than one charity you want to support. The average charitable Will contains three gifts.
The recent changes to the inheritance tax (IHT) rules announced by the Chancellor also means that if you leave 10% of your taxable estate to charity, that the IHT rate on your estate is lowered and the gift will, in effect, not decrease in value the estate you are leaving to individuals. Your solicitor or accountant will be able to advise you further.
Hereford Cathedral's 2011/2 choral
scholars outside St Ethelbert's House
One other interesting fact about charitable Wills is that 'church goers' are, for a variety of reasons, more likely to have a Will and to have included a charitable element in it. The Church however, in terms of value, receives less than many other sectors. There may be many reasons for this, not least that during our lifetimes many of us will give substantially through our stewardship giving, but perhaps the Church is just not good at asking for support in this way? Perhaps it is time we started to change that and to start thinking how we might help our much loved parish church, the church where we may be buried, and I hope you will also consider the cathedral.
Our Will is the opportunity for the majority of us to make the largest charitable gift of our lifetime - please do not miss the opportunity to remember your church!
Glyn Morgan Rosemary Lording
Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust Diocesan Stewardship Working Group
June Chase- Friends of Hereford Cathedral
Why are gifts so important to charities and your church
It's a common myth that only the rich and famous leave money to charity when they die. This couldn't be any further from the truth. The reality is that without the gifts left in Wills by people like you and me, many of the charities we know and support today wouldn't even exist. Charitable legacies are the foundation for many good causes in the UK and are vital in continuing their work.
Thankfully, 74% of the UK population support charities and when asked, 35% of people say they would happily leave a gift in their Will once family and friends had been provided for. The problem is only 7% actually do.
That is why, if we all leave some money in our Wills for charity as well as our family, we can make a huge difference. In fact, just a 4% change in behaviour would generate an additional £1 billion for good causes in the UK every year. So, you do not have to be rich and famous to make a contribution that can make a difference. We can all do something amazing for the world just by remembering our favourite charity when writing a Will.
Writing a will
Writing a Will is the only way to ensure that what you leave behind is distributed according to your wishes. However only around 50% of people aged over 40 have a Will.
Why is writing a will important?
Writing a Will is the only way that you can be certain that your wishes will be followed after you die. If you do not make one, part or all of your estate may go to people who you never intended to benefit. By writing a Will you will be able to protect the future of your loved ones and appoint people you trust to manage your affairs once you are gone.
Inheritance Tax legislation also means that if you do not prepare properly, a substantial part of what you leave behind may go to the state. Without a Will, you have no control over what happens and the Court will decide how your property and possessions are distributed.
How should I go about writing a will?
Writing a Will is easy and inexpensive when drafted by a properly qualified professional. You should check that the professional you choose:
- Is trained and qualified to write a Will
- Has undertaken ongoing training to write Wills
- Has professional indemnity insurance of at least £2 million
- Is a member of an organization that has an independent complaints procedure.
Solicitors who are members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and Will writers who are members of the Institute of Professional Willwriters meet these requirements.
What about home-made or online Wills?
Whilst it is possible to write your own Will, Wills can be complex and some mistakes could make the Will invalid. This can result in long and expensive court cases to resolve matters. In addition you may accidently omit important details when writing a Will, such as what should happen if the main beneficiary does not survive.
It is also possible to write a Will online, but you should remember that a Will is an individual and personal document that is tailored to suit your particular needs, which may be difficult for an online system to cater for.
How to change your Will to leave a gift
If you want to leave a gift to charity but have already made a Will, it is not a problem. There are a couple of simple ways you can change it.
1. A new Will
The first and probably simplest way, is to write a new Will. Once a new will is written, it makes any Wills made by that person in the past void. In fact, most Wills will start by reciting that you are writing a Will and that you are revoking previous Wills. However, if you do not want to do this, there is another way. It is called a Codicil.
2. Codicils
A codicil is a document used to change a Will that has already been made. It is used as a way to make simple additions or amendments to an existing Will like a change in the amount of a gift of money, or the addition of an executor or gift. This is all quite straightforward but problems can occur if you ever want to cancel the Will in the future.
When you cancel a Will with a codicil, the codicil is not cancelled automatically, so when you write a new Will it can create inconsistencies and legal problems.
If you choose to use a codicil be very careful that next time if you make a new Will, it clearly states that you are revoking all wills and codicils previously made.
Extract from Remember-a-Charity
The new choral and organ scholars at Hereford Cathedral have been able to move into a new home following the very generous gift to the Chapter and the Friends of Hereford Cathedral.
The late Esther Poole-Hughes, following the wishes of her late brother Bishop John, left her house set on the edge of Redcliffe Gardens, which is between College Cloisters and Castle green, to the Cathedral Chapter when she died last year. The majority of the contents were also kindly left to the Friends of Hereford Cathedral. The contents were sold and the funds used to convert the house into suitable accommodation. The combined gift has meant that a wonderful home has been created for the scholars, with each student having their own room, along with a communal kitchen and sitting / music room.
'While such gifts obviously have a financial value to them, sometimes the gift has a far greater benefit and we hope that Bishop John & Esther would have liked the thought that their home, which welcomed so many people, will still be a place of life and have a ministry of welcome,' said the Dean.
'Legacies are extremely important to the cathedral,' he continued, 'and we are very grateful to all those who remember us, whether through the Friends, the Perpetual Trust or the Chapter. I would encourage all, as part of stewardship giving, to consider whether you might be able to support the Church, whether your local church or the cathedral, in your Will. It is a marvellous way to give thanks and to celebrate what the church has given each of us.'
Each year the Perpetual Trust holds a Benefactors' Party for all those who have committed to leaving a legacy to some part of the cathedral's life and ministry. Specific details do not have to be given, just a commitment that you have included the cathedral in some way, although it is appreciated that circumstances may change which means you have to change what you had hoped to do.
Details about the Benefactors' Party and how you might support the cathedral through a legacy can be obtained by contacting Glyn Morgan (5 College Cloisters, Hereford HR1 2NG: 01432 374261: bequest@herefordcathedral.org), by returning the reply-form in the legacy advert in this NEWSpaper, by visiting www.herefordcathedral.org/how-to-help, by picking up a leaflet in the cathedral or by speaking with your solicitor. Guidance can also be given about how to support parish churches.
Has your church received a gift?
Has your church received a legacy recently, whether large or small, which has enabled you to do something in your church that it would not have been possible to do without that gift? If you would like to share the story in the NEWSpaper, please contact the Editor.