How do I leave a gift in my will?

Leaving a gift in your Will can make a huge difference to charities, as well as giving your loved ones an immense sense of pride that your final wishes reflected your life. After you have taken care of your loved ones, you may like to consider leaving a gift in your Will to the South West Coast Path Association.

Making a Will is one of the most important things  you can do, to ensure that your wishes are carried out in the way that you would want them to be, and those you care about are provided for in the future.

Why should I consider leaving a gift in my Will to a charity?

Leaving a legacy is a fantastic way to make a real impact on a charity, and to show your dedication to a cause which means something to you, after you have passed away. Whatsmore, leaving a gift to charity means that any financial pressures aren't born now as you won't pay a penny until after you're gone, and may even save tax on what you leave.

What types of gift can I leave in my Will?

There are three main types of gift which you can leave in your will to any individual, charity or cause. In simple terms, these are:

Specific Gift - this usually refers to an item/s such as a family heirloom, land or jewellery. These types of gift are most common among individuals, such as passing a ring or necklace onto a family member.

Pecuniary Gift - this is a specific amount of money which you wish to leave to a charity, cause or individual/s. For example, you may leave a specific amount to your children, grandchildren, or a charity.

Residuary Gift - these are the most common gifts to charities, as they are the sums that are left over after specific and pecuniary gifts have been taken into account. This may be a percentage of the residual amount, or the whole residual amount.

How do I make a Will?

The South West Coast Path Association cannot give you legal advice about making Wills; it's not our place to do so, and for something this important, we would never want to give you incorrect advice. However, our friends at Tozers LLP are experts in Legacies and Wealth Management, and are a friendly, honest, local firm of Solicitors who will be happy to guide you through the entire process, as well as offering advice. They also offer our supporters the option to make their Will for Free, at no cost to you or to the Association. You can find out more details about our Free Wills Scheme by clicking here.

Alternatively, the SWCPA is a proud member of Remember a Charity, which means that our supporters can benefit from discounted Will writing services.

• If you're based in England or Wales, you can benefit from an exclusive 20% discount Will-writing offer through a partnership with Co-op Legal Services. You can do this online by clicking here or by calling 0330 606 9578 and quote RACWILLS01
  
  
• If you're based outside of England and Wales, you can take advantage of using the services offered by Bequeathed, by clicking here

I would like to leave a gift to the South West Coast Path Association. How can I do this?

Firstly, thank you so very much for pledging to give a gift in your Will to the South West Coast Path Association. Gifts in Wills have made a huge difference to our charity and are often the largest gifts we receive. Whether you're able to leave a large or small amount to us, we promise that this will help to protect the path and continue the work of the Association for years to come.

To leave a gift to our charity in your Will, you should make a note of our official charity name, address and registered charity number and give this to your solicitor:

South West Coast Path Association 
Residence 2, Royal William Yard, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 3RP
Registered Charity No:1163422

If you're making a new Will, then you can leave any of the gift types previously mentioned, and will need to note our details above to ensure that this reaches us safely.

If you are making a change to your existing Will, then you can either contact your solicitor and ask them to make the change, letting them know our details above, or can do so via a Codicil, which is an adendum to your existing Will. We have created a helpful Codicil template which you can download HERE.

However you choose to make a gift in your Will, it would help us enormously if you would feel comfortable enough to let us know. Should you wish to do this, you can contact our Impact Fundraiser, Will Keen, on the details below.

How can I find out more?

We have joined the the Remember A Charity campaign to be able to provide further information on writing a Will including why a Will is so important, factors you should consider, steps to take and an explanation of terms you might come across.

If you would like to talk about leaving a gift, or would like to send us any of this information in the post, do get in touch by calling our Impact Fundraiser, Will Keen, on [email protected]

The South West Coast Path Association is unable to give legal advice about leaving a gift in your Will. If you are in any doubt, use a Solicitor to do so who can help you using all their legal know-how.