A Good Gift

Alan Rickman who passed away in January from cancer reportedly left £100,000 in his Will to charity – a kind gesture from a famous screen villain. If you want to read from his script, here’s how to pass it on after you’ve passed away.

In Alan Rickman’s Will, written just three months before his untimely demise from pancreatic cancer, he reportedly left £100,000 in charitable donations to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Sponsored Arts for Education, the Facial Surgery Research Foundation (known as Saving Faces) and the International Performers Aid Trust. (Apparently each received £25,000.)

Rickman had been involved with the organisations during his life and wanted to carry on helping them after death, making him one of the 17% of Britons who leave a legacy when writing a Will. And that money is vitally important to our charities with legacy income worth more than £2bn a year to the sector.

So how can you follow Alan’s example when you write your Will or, if you’ve already written it, change it to include some charities?

It’s easy and at Ashton Grace, as professional Will and Estate Planning experts, we can advise you. Either write your first Will or create a whole new Will. You’ll need to provide the charity’s name, address and, importantly, registered charity number and decide whether you want to leave a share of your estate (a residuary gift); a fixed amount of money (a pecuniary gift) or a particular item (a specific gift). Again, we at Ashton Grace can advise.

It’s also worth noting that legacies left to charities are free from Inheritance Tax and if you leave 10% of your estate to charity there’s a corresponding reduction in the overall rate of Inheritance Tax payable on the rest of the estate.

Remember a Charity, an organisation that promotes leaving legacies in Wills and works with UK charities to coordinate this, has lots of useful information on its website – log on to www.rememberacharity.org.uk

So, if Alan Rickman has inspired you, contact us on 0208 537 3448 or wills@ashtongrace.co.uk and we can help you leave a legacy of love for future generations.

Ashton Grace – Specialists in Wills & Estate Planning