We were delighted to receive this note from Marianne Aston when she chose the Advocacy as a beneficiary during the planning process for her will. Read on to discover how, with little impact on the amount you will leave to your beneficiaries, you can nominate charities like the Advocacy to receive a percentage of your estate. Many thanks to Marianne for describing the process for us.
Marianne Aston writes:
Five years ago, my father died. My brother and I were so grateful that he had written a will. As a result, obtaining probate and following his wishes was relatively straightforward. This prompted me to write my own will – something to which I had not previously given much thought. I was delighted to discover that in the UK there is a scheme called Will Aid, by which wills can be written for a very reasonable fee by selected solicitors. www.willaid.org.uk
While preparing my will I discovered that it was possible to donate 10% of my estate to registered charities, with minimal impact on the amount I could leave to my beneficiaries. This is because charitable gifts in the UK reduce Inheritance Tax exposure. Everyone wins! So, I set about the very pleasant task of deciding which charities to choose. Animal and cancer charities are generally very well-endowed, so I decided to think about people within my circle of friends, particularly those who had family members with rare medical conditions, more likely to be overlooked by donors.
Several years earlier I had met Ginger Irvine through work, and through her got to know her husband Glenn and daughter Alex. I knew that they were very active in supporting research into NA so I was delighted to pledge 1% of my estate to their charity. In fact, I made 10 separate 1% pledges and it was great fun choosing them. It is an opportunity to make a tangible difference to the causes and people you care about.
Leaving a legacy to charities in your will is a sensible way of financial planning that benefits everyone. The only information you need is the correct full name of the charity and its Registered Charity Number which, for NA, is The Advocacy for Neuroacanthocytosis Patients and 1133182. I commend them to you.
