Laura Cowan

Remember a Charity, an organisation that aims to raise awareness of charitable legacies in wills, has shared the results of a survey conducted among 500 millionaires that indicates that only 50% have already included a gift to charity in their wills.  This rises to 75% of people who have over £5 million.

The survey also sheds light on the attitudes of those millionaires who have not already left a gift to charity in their will.  26% said that they simply hadn’t thought of it and 58% said they would be happy to consider it.  Furthermore, the research also indicates that 40% of those who haven’t already left a gift would be willing to consider it because of the tax benefits.

Charitable giving in wills has significant tax advantages. Any donation you leave to a charity in your will is tax free – it will not be counted towards your estate for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes. If you leave 10% or more of your net estate to charity, your IHT rate will be reduced from 40% to 36%.

Alarmingly, the research also showed that only 31% of millionaires have an up to date will and 35% of those between 55 and 65 have no will at all.

Laura Cowan, member of Graysons’ private wealth team and head of its private client department provides valuable guidance to numerous high-net-worth clients on estate-related matters and strategies to minimise their IHT liability. This includes gifts in wills and setting up charitable will trusts, whereby trustees are restricted to utilising the capital or income solely for charitable purposes.

Gifts in wills make up a huge percentage of legacy income. If you want to discuss how you can contribute to this, contact Laura now.