Have you considered leaving a Gift in your Will to Charity?

Brainwave has been helping children for over twenty five and although none of us can predict exactly what the financial needs of the Charity will be in ten or twenty years from now, we can all be assured that its focus will remain on helping children with a brain injury or Developmental Delay to reach their potential. If you have reached this page, without really understanding why Brainwave's provision is so unique and so effective, why not click on the following link and hear what parents have to say : (page ref)

What follows gives you some background information on how you can leave a Gift to Brainwave in your Will. You may decide to leave a specific cash sum or a percentage of the remainder of your estate. Either way, under present rules, the gift to the Charity is free of Inheritance Tax. In addition, the total value of your gift is deducted from your estate, so reducing the amount of Inheritance Tax that your beneficiaries will have to pay. The level of Inheritance Tax exemption from the 6th April 2007 is £300,000. Although this is a substantial sum, nevertheless a lot of estates will be over this figure when taking into account houses, life and pension policies and so on.

You should also be aware of the announcement by the Chancellor of new legislation which will enable two nil rate bands to be used against the combined estates of spouses and civil partners. This will allow tax savings to be achieved where the IHT nil rate band of the first spouse or civil partner was not fully used.

Until this announcement comes into force, you may find the following illustration helpful. Let us suppose that the net value of your estate is £320,000 and that you leave £20,000 to the Brainwave Centre. After deducting the £20,000, the remainder of your estate would bear no Inheritance Tax. The £20,000 you left to Brainwave is also free of any Inheritance Tax. However, if you made no such gift to the Charity and left the whole of your estate to non-exempt beneficiaries, the Inheritance Tax bill would be £8,000. Another way to help Brainwave - and to avoid tax - is to make a lump sum gift or gifts during your lifetime. Under the Gift Aid Scheme, these would be tax free to the Charity and could have the effect of reducing your estate and liability to Inheritance Tax.

Why make a Will?

Making a Will enables you to make provision for your partner and family and be sure that your wishes will be carried out. If you die without a Will, this often means that your estate will not be distributed as you wish and disputes sometimes arise between family members. A correctly prepared Will gives peace of mind.

We have prepared some suggested wording at the foot of this page, should you consider leaving a Gift to Brainwave, but we would always advise you to consult your own solicitor who will be able to give personal and confidential advice on any point you would like to discuss. Your Solicitor (or your Accountant) can also advise you about possible Inheritance Tax liability.

If you do not have a Solicitor, we do offer a free Will service through the Charity's Solicitor and should you use this service it is hoped that you will make a gift to the Charity in your Will.

For information on this service please contact us by post, e-mail : or by telephoning 01278 429089.

LEGACY

We set out below a suggested wording for a gift to Brainwave to incorporate in your Will for those of you who would like to help the Charity.

"I give to the Brainwave Centre Ltd of Huntworth Gate, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 6LQ for its general charitable purposes:
(a) The sum of £
or
(b) All the residue of my estate (or a percentage thereof) The receipt of the Chief Executive Officer or other responsible officer for the time being of the said Charity shall be a good and sufficient discharge to my Executors/Trustees".

CODICIL

If you already have a Will, a form of wording of a Codicil is set out below: "I give to the Brainwave Centre Ltd, Charity of Huntworth Gate, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 6LQ for its general Charitable purposes:
a) The sum of £
or
b) All the residue of my estate (or a percentage thereof) I direct that the receipt of the Chief Executive Officer or another officer of the said Charity shall be a sufficient discharge to my Executors and Trustees"