Leave a Gift in your Will

Gifts in wills or legacies are hugely important to us in maintaining and developing our work.

Including us in your will is easy:

1. Talk to your solicitor.
2. Give them our full name and address:
Friends at the End, 42 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, EH2 4HQ and cite our Scottish Charity No.

Tell us about your legacy plans

If you chose to leave a gift to Friends at the End we would love to know so that we can thank you properly.

You are under no obligation to tell us what you have decided to leave in your will, but we do like to thank those generous supporters who are kind enough to remember us in this way.

Inheritance tax

Inheritance Tax is paid if a person’s estate (their property, money and possessions) is worth more than £325,000 when they die. This is called the ‘Inheritance Tax threshold’.

The rate of Inheritance Tax is 40% on anything above the threshold. The rate may be reduced to 36% if 10% or more of the net value of the estate is left to charity.

The rules on inheritance tax and the exemptions that apply can be complicated. Further details are on the HM Revenue & Customs website or get in touch and our legal advisors can help you with this:

Types of charitable legacies in Wills

Once you have considered the needs of your family and friends, there are different types of legacies you can leave Friends at the End. Your solicitor or our legal volunteers will help you with the wording of your legacy and more info is below.

Residuary legacies

A residuary legacy is a proportion of what remains of your estate (the residue) after your executor has paid all other bequests, debts and costs. You can decide how much you want to give to others first, then specify how the residue should be split up.

Friends at the End could benefit from up to 100% of the residue of your estate or less, depending on how many other charities you wish to support. Note that, if you choose a large number of different charities to benefit, the administration costs to your estate accrued by the executor – usually a solicitor – may be significant. So, you may want to think about choosing the good causes closest to your heart. Residuary legacies will stay in line with inflation as they represent a percentage of an estate, rather than a fixed amount that will depreciate over time.

Pecuniary legacies

A pecuniary legacy is a fixed, specific sum of money. This amount will depreciate in value over time.

It is a good idea to review your will every few years or after any major life changes, such as getting married or divorced or a beneficiary passing away before you. This can also give you a chance to think about increasing the amount of any pecuniary legacy to charity.

Legacies of any amount make a huge difference to our work.

Specific legacies

This type of legacy involves you leaving a particular item – usually something valuable such as a piece of furniture, artwork, jewellery, or even a property.
Friends at the End is then able to decide whether to keep and use the item or to sell it and use the proceeds to benefit our cause.

Friends at the End as an alternative beneficiary

As part of planning your will, you should also think about what you would want to happen if a beneficiary should die before you.