Give in your will FAQ

We are incredibly grateful for all legacy gifts. Small or large, all are most valuable to us. We recommend that you speak to your solicitor or other adviser, who can help you to decide which is most appropriate to you. Gifts in Wills can consist of money, a specified percentage, a share of residue (from just 1%).

A pecuniary gift is a sum of money that is specified in your Will. The ‘residue’ is the sum that is left from your estate when all debts, charges and other gifts have been deducted. A residuary legacy can be the entirety of the residue, or a percentage (from just 1%) shared out between a number of beneficiaries, such as family members, friends or charities.
A residuary legacy generally gives the greatest benefit to Somerset Wildlife Trust as its value will increase with the value of your estate. If you do decide to leave part of or the entire residue to us, you should take your solicitor’s advice on how to draft your Will to ensure that tax exemptions are applied advantageously to your estate as a whole.

All gifts in Wills are recorded in our report and accounts unless the legator has requested that their donation remains anonymous. If, as we hope, you do decide to remember Somerset Wildlife Trust in your Will, as a small gesture of our appreciation we offer you the opportunity to come along to occasional events we will organise for supporters who have remembered Somerset Wildlife Trust in their Wills.

Whether we are able to accept gifts of land is dependent on its potential to enhance our existing portfolio of nature reserves and if you are considering leaving us such a gift please contact us to discuss this. If we are able to accept a gift of land, we are unable to make our ownership inalienable (i.e. we cannot undertake never to sell it, but would only do so in extreme circumstances). Some people choose to leave a sum of money too, to be spent on land management or to be used in other ways, which is always most welcome but it is not a pre-requisite for us accepting the gift. 

Ideally, Somerset Wildlife Trust would like to be left as much flexibility as possible but appreciates that each case is different and that is why we like the opportunity to discuss the options and gain an understanding of your wishes and intentions. 
To discuss this privately and in confidence, please contact Lucy Marsh, our Legacies, Patrons and Events Manager. 

At present, anything given to a legal spouse (including those joined under a registered Civil Partnership) or a registered charity is exempt from Inheritance Tax and including these in your Will may help to reduce the liability to tax. We recommend that you consult your solicitor or adviser, who will be able to suggest the most tax efficient planning methods for you in your own particular circumstances.

You are most welcome to request that your gift is put towards a specific project, nature reserve or type of work. If your gift is to be restricted, we do ask that you contact us before finalising your Will to ensure that your wishes can be met. However by making your gift unrestricted, it can be put towards where the need is greatest at the time of receipt and this would be our preference as such future needs are hard to predict.

We have prepared some suggested wording to assist you which you can download below and take with you when you visit your adviser.

You do not necessarily have to have a new Will drawn up if you wish to include a gift to Somerset Wildlife Trust. This could be incorporated by way of a Codicil (download below). However, we recommend that you consult a solicitor or other professional adviser when updating your Will.

Please contact Lucy Marsh our Legacies, Patrons and Events Manager.
 Telephone: 01823 652441 
Email: lucy.marsh@somersetwildlife.org, 
Postal address: Somerset Wildlife Trust, 34 Wellington Road, Taunton, Somerset TA1 5AW

Please contact Lucy Marsh our Legacies, Patrons and Events Manager.
 Telephone: 01823 652441 
Email: lucy.marsh@somersetwildlife.org, who will explain what you need to do regarding the allocation of funds. All cheques should be made payable to Somerset Wildlife Trust.

Although there is no obligation for you to let us know, it will allow us to thank you and ensure that you do not receive future requests asking you to remember us in your Will. If you do tell us, this promise is only a statement of your present intentions, is no way legally binding, and can be varied or withdrawn at any time.

Somerset Wildlife Trust is registered as a charity in England and Wales, charity number 238372. Our registered address is: Somerset Wildlife Trust, 34 Wellington Road, Taunton, Somerset TA1 5AW