Leave a gift in your will

A gift made in a will is called a legacy. The main types of gifts you can leave in your will are:

• Residuary - This is a gift made up of what is left of your money and property after all other costs and gifts to friends and family have been made. With a residuary bequest, you can take care of loved ones first and leave all or part of what is left over to a charity.
• Pecuniary - This is a gift of a fixed sum of money and can be big or small.
• Specific - This is a gift of a particular item in your will, such as a piece of jewellery, furniture or painting.

You can make or change a will to include a legacy gift. This is the only way to make sure your wishes are known and respected. Your solicitor will be able to help you and explain what you need to do.

If you would like to leave a gift to us in your will, your solicitor will want to know the precise form of words to use. We’ve included an example below:

I leave the sum of [amount in words] or a [percentage] share of my estate to The Children’s Society, Whitecross Studios, 50 Banner Street, London EC1Y 8ST, registered charity number 221124 for its general charitable purposes absolutely.

Before visiting your solicitor, it’s a good idea to know the value of your assets, or what you own. To help you, we’ve included a simple checklist.

We understand that some people would rather not say what is in their will and so you do not have to tell us if you have left us a gift.

However, if you do want to let us know, then we would love to hear from you and thank you for your kind support. Please let us know by emailing our Supporter Care team or call us on 0300 303 7000.

We know that people’s circumstances and priorities change. If you would like to change your mind about leaving us a gift in your will then you are free to do so.

Always ask your solicitor to help you make changes to your will so that they are valid. They can add a form called a codicil to your existing will with details of these changes.