How to donate to a charity in your will

A charitable gift in your Will, sometimes called a legacy, is a simple way to support a cause permanently.

There are three common ways to do it. A pecuniary gift is a fixed sum of money. A specific gift is a named asset such as a property or a vehicle. A residuary gift is a percentage of whatever remains after debts, expenses and gifts to family have been settled; this keeps the gift proportionate if your estate grows or shrinks.

Whichever you choose, identify the charity precisely, including its registration details where available, so there is no doubt about who is intended. State the amount or percentage clearly, and say what should happen if the charity no longer exists when the gift takes effect.

In Owill you can record charities alongside your dependants and allocate a value or percentage of any asset to each of them, and the allocation appears in your generated Will document.