Help greyhounds with a legacy
Making a Will
Making a Will is very important. 70% of people die in the UK without making a Will, and if you fail to make a Will and have no relatives all your assets go to the Government. Making a Will is the only way to ensure that your money and property goes where you would like.
Making a Will can be complex and it is a false economy to write your own. It is best to get quotes from solicitors in your area, and then talk through your intentions with the chosen solicitor. Then your Will can be drawn exactly as you wish and will achieve what you intend. After making all necessary provision for your dependants, you might decide to leave a legacy to one or more of your favoured charities.
Changing your Will
If you have already made a Will, a simple Codicil can be added to it to change any of the provisions in it. If you decide that you now wish to support a charity, the solicitor who helped you with the original Will can advise you how to add a simple Codicil to it.
Different types of legacy
There are two main ways for supporters to leave money to charities:
1. Leaving a set amount. This is called a pecuniary legacy and the only disadvantage is that the real value of your gift is eroded over time, so may end up being of less value than you intended.
2. Leaving all or part of what’s left over. This is called a residuary legacy, as the residue is what is left after you have made specific provisions for your relatives and friends. This may give you peace of mind as you know that your family have been provided for and that the legal and other costs will be taken from your estate, and then the balance left over can go to helping your favourite charity or charities.
Inheritance Tax
UK Inheritance Tax affects all estates exceeding currently £325,000. This might seem a substantial amount, but many older people own their homes, and this alone is taking large numbers of people into the Inheritance Tax net. Inheritance Tax is charged at 40% on the value of assets above £325,000.
However, legacies left to registered UK charities are exempt from Inheritance Tax, so if someone with an estate valued at £365,000 had left a legacy of £40,000 to a charity, Inheritance Tax would be avoided.
The Government is further encouraging people to remember charities in their Wills. People dying on or after 6th April 2012, will have the rate of Inheritance Tax cut to 36% if they have left at least 10% of their net estate to charities.
Greyhounds in Need
Legacies make a vital contribution to the UK charitable sector, and major charities receive half their income from legacies. A legacy is a fine way for supporters to help GIN carry on its work with greyhounds, both in Spain and elsewhere. GIN was founded to help greyhounds and galgos and still devotes its efforts and funds to help these needy dogs.
Legacies cost nothing during a lifetime, but remembering GIN by leaving a legacy, will help us to continue helping greyhounds and galgos. If you have included a legacy to GIN in your Will, please let us know. It tells us that we are getting our messages to people who count and enables GIN to keep you up to date with our progress.