Questions about leaving a gift in your Will to Sense

You can remember Sense in your will as either a share of your estate, a set amount or a specific item. Here is some wording which you may wish to provide to your solicitor:

For a share of your estate, or residuary gift

A residuary gift is a remainder, or a percentage of the remainder of your estate, once other payments have been made. We suggest this wording:

“I give _______% of my residuary estate to Sense, 101 Pentonville Road, London N1 9LG Registered charity number 289868, to be applied for its general purposes and I declare that the receipt of the finance director or appropriate officer shall be a complete discharge to my trustees.”

For a cash gift, or pecuniary gift

A pecuniary gift is a fixed sum of money. We suggest this wording:

“I give £_______ to Sense, 101 Pentonville Road, London N1 9LG Registered charity number 289868, to be applied for its general purposes and I declare that the receipt of the finance director or appropriate officer shall be a complete discharge to my trustees.”

If you wish to choose a Sense service or area to support, along with the standard wording, you would simply need to add: “I express the wish for the money to be used for the benefit of [insert full name and address of service or area].”

Alternatively, you can make your gift to Sense as a whole, and we’ll use it where it’s most needed.

You can state in your Will that a gift is in memory of a loved one. You can also set up a Tribute Fund for donations to Sense in memory of a loved one. We would be honoured to support you in your fundraising to celebrate the life of someone special to you. Find out more about giving in memory.

If your planned changes are small, such as making a straightforward bequest, it might not be necessary to change the whole document. You can do this for free through the Sense Free Will Service.

If you’d like to leave a gift to Sense in your Will, you may wish to use the Sense Free Will Service. Or you could find one using the Law Society website, or by calling them on 020 7242 1222.

Inheritance tax is taken from your estate after you pass away and before gifts are given to the people named in your Will. Gifts to registered charities are usually exempt from inheritance tax and can help reduce any tax that may be due.

It will depend on your circumstances but if you give 10% of your entire estate to charity this can reduce your inheritance tax liability from 40% to 36%, which may mean you could leave more to family and friends. It’s important to talk to a solicitor who understands your tax situation, and you can keep up to date on the latest information by visiting the HMRC website.

It isn’t necessary to register your Will with any authority, but you should make sure it’s kept in a safe place. You should also let your executors know where it is so that they can find it easily.  Most people ask the solicitor who drew up their Will to keep the original and give them a copy.