Leaving The Rock Trust a Gift in Your Will
There are several very good reasons why you might want to consider doing this:
- Any gift that you leave us in your will, will be free from inheritance tax. Therefore if you leave us a gift in your will for the proportion of your estate above the inheritance tax threshold, you will not pay any inheritance tax. This proportion could be paid to The Rock Trust, a mixture of charities, or another charity of your preference.
- Each year The Rock Trust needs to raise approximately 50% of its income from fundraising activity. Gifts from wills can go a considerable way towards achieving this target – allowing us to free up more time to spend supporting vulnerable young people.
- Leaving us a gift gives you an opportunity to continue to support the work that we do – beyond your own lifetime. It will provide us with a strong platform to continue to work with future generations of young people that need assistance
- Leaving us a gift in your will doesn’t mean choosing between your family and us. By using the exemption on inheritance tax you can be satisfied that your family will be well provided for and at the same time making a considerable difference to the lives of countless disadvantaged young people
Making a Will – a six step guide
1. Value your assets
Before you begin to think about who you want to benefit from your will it is important for you to consider what the likely value of your estate is. You can start this process by making a list of everything that you own and considering how much it is likely to be worth. Some things may be easier to value than other things. It is likely that your biggest asset will be your house/flat. In most instances there should be people that are able to assist you with this process e.g. estate agents etc. You can also research current values of assets quite easily if you wish. The internet is a powerful tool to help with this.
2. Consider who you wish to leave your estate to
This is likely to be a range of the people and causes closest and dearest to you. Make a note of who they are, their addresses and how much you would like to leave them.
3. Chose who you want to act as executor
The Executor(s) of your will is the person(s) that you chose to make sure that your wishes are carried out – they may be a family member or a friend, or event a solicitor.
4. Choose a solicitor
Writing a will is quite straight forward, but we would recommend that you use a solicitor. The cost of preparing a will is relatively small and some solicitors may offer this service free of charge. Getting it right at this stage will save time, effort and money in the long run, and will give you greater peace of mind knowing that it is all taken care of.
There’s already a good chance that you have your own solicitor already that you could use. If not, you can always ask friends or family members for their recommendations.
The Law Society of Scotland have a very helpful website: www.lawscot.org.uk which allows you to search your local area for solicitors who can help out with will making (search under ‘Executries, wills and Trusts’).
What Should I Do To Prepare For A Meeting With My Solicitor?
We have put together a document that we hope will be of help to you. It's called ‘now I want to plan my will’, and helps by taking you through the basic steps involved in planning your will. It will help you to work out the details of your estate and what you are likely to have available to pass on as gifts in your will. This will help save time in your discussions with your solicitor (which may save on the costs of producing your will).
5. Keep your will safe
Once it is made its obviously important to keep it in a safe place which can be readily accessed (by yourself and your executor when you die). You can ask your solicitor or your bank to do this – usually for a fee.
6. Review your will on a regular basis
Once made it is important for you to review your will on a fairly regular basis. Things can change quite dramatically in the course of time – family members may get married, there may be births (and deaths). The size of your estate may also have changed since the time of writing your will.
It will therefore be important to you that your will reflects your up to date wishes. Many people choose to review the will every 2 to 3 years.
Frequently Asked Questions About Leaving A Gift To The Rock Trust In My Will
Below is a list of frequently asked questions (and answers) concerning leaving a gift in a will to a charity. If you have a question that is not answered below please do get in contact with us – if we don’t know the answer, we will find out and get back to you.
How will the Rock Trust Use Gift?
Your donation to The Rock Trust is a gift to help homeless and vulnerable young people living in Scotland. We believe passionately that all young people deserve the best possible start in life and that in a wealthy country like Scotland child and youth disadvantage is morally wrong. Find out more about our current work.
Over time the types of services that we provide can change – as we adapt to the changing needs of our young people. As it may take many years for us to receive your gift it is difficult to say with certainty where and how it will be used in the future. If you have a strong preference about how it should be used, please do get in touch with us.
What Happens If I don’t Have a Will?
In the event of your death, and not having a will in place, it is possible that your estate may not be settled in the way that you would have wished. In some instances, a relative of friend my not receive something that you would have wished them to. Of course its quite possible that the opposite of this may happen also. Even if you have a will, it is important to revisit it from time to time to ensure it is up to date with your wishes.
Can a Gift to Charity Help Me Pay Less Tax?
Any asset (including money) that you leave behind can be subject to Inheritance Tax (the rules for this tax change frequently, so it is advisable to keep up to date with what this will mean for your estate). Some people prefer to divide their estate so that family and friends are left gifts that fall below the tax threshold – meaning that they will not have to pay any tax on what they receive. What is then left over can be shared between any charities (who are not required to pay Inheritance Tax).
Should I Tell The Rock Trust That I Am Planning To Leave A Gift In My Will To You?
Although you do not have to, it is often helpful for us to know about an intended gift. You don’t necessarily need to tell us how much you are planning to leave. Letting us know simply makes the future planning process that bit easier.
I’m Acting As Executor. What Should I Do?
If you have been appointed as an Executor for the estate of someone who has left a legacy gift to The Rock Trust please contact our Business and Resource Manager on tel: 0131 524 9880.
Can The Rock Trust Act As My Executor?
The Rock Trust may be able to act as Executor to your estate provided the cost of any donation left to us is greater than the likely cost incurred through settling the estate. As the Trust is a registered charity with its purpose being the alleviation of youth homelessness, we need to ensure that income raised is being spent in this area. Some estates can be quite complex and therefore expensive to settle. In any instance where we are asked to act as Executor we would need to consider the nature of what was involved. Please do contact us if you would like to discuss this option.
For further information on any of the above information please contact Tom Byrom on tel: 0131 524 9880, Email: tom.byrom@rocktrust.org or at our address of 55 Albany Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3QY.