The Children’s Society Magazine | Spring 2007 |
12-13
Fundraising
Making a Will:
getting it right
Legacies provide a vital source of income for charities but it’s
important to make sure that your Will is legally valid.
Intestacy rules
If you are married,
your spouse will
automatically receive
the first £125,000
as well as the life
interest in half the
remainder, with the
rest going to the
children. If you do
not have children,
the first £200,000
will go to the spouse
with the remainder
going to the parents
or brothers and
sisters if the parents
are deceased.
If you are not
married then the
whole estate will
be inherited by the
closest relatives,
in the following
order of priority:
Last year, The Children’s Society If a person dies without a Will they replacement charity with
children, parents,
received over £8million in legacies. are said to die ‘intestate’ and the similar goals could not be
brothers and sisters,
It is one of our largest sources of law imposes certain rules for found. Because of the absence
grandparents, aunts income and we are very grateful to division of your assets irrespective of a clause stating that failed
and uncles. If you
be remembered so generously. of your wishes (see column, left). gifts should accrue to the
do not have any
of the above
However, there are occasions when other beneficiaries this part
relatives, it will
the intentions of the deceased However, it is also not unusual for of the estate came under the
go to the crown.
are not carried out. This may be a Will to contain some legal errors. intestacy rules and eventually
because they do not have a Will or One of the commonest mistakes is went to the Crown as there were
because, through poor preparation a ‘partial intestacy’, which is failing no other relatives in this case.
or bad advice, part of their Will is to effectively dispose of the whole
not legally valid. estate within a valid Will. This can The newly revised legacy pages
significantly affect the outcome of on our website (www.childrens
In 2004, 34 years after his death
a Will and sometimes the incomes society.org.uk/legacies) are
at 27 Jimi Hendrix’s estate was
of charities. packed with information about
still in court because he never
making and updating your
made a Will. Despite interfamilial
In one such case, shortly before Will including FAQs and real life
wrangling one biographer claims
Christmas we were notified of a case studies and stories. If you
that those closest to Hendrix
partial intestacy where a residuary would like further information or
during his lifetime have still
gift to a co-beneficiary charity request a Making a Will booklet
been left out of his Will.
failed because the charity was please call the legacies team on
no longer in existence and a 020 7841 4472.
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