Will

[Nowtsure]

We're looking to create a will and considering any of the charity free wills.

Just wondering what do people normally leave in their will to the charity - is it a set amount, or percentage? What figure is considered reasonable?

Thanks

A % has benefits e.g. if you need care and your final estate is £10k 10% is £1k but if you left a fixed amount e.g. £20k it could wipe out the whole estate.

If you leave 10% or more to charity I believe anything over the IHT threshold is taxed at 36% rather than 40%.

I'd have thought a legacy equal to what getting a will done professionally today would be about right.

You need to be very specific about what you’re leaving the charity: many grieving families whose relatives have left a percentage of their estate have found themselves in legal battles with charity lawyers whose remit is to make sure they obtain that percentage, even if if means forcing sale of items which family would like to keep but which are valuable and the charity wants to take their cut of. Make sure that they word it as a set, expressed figure i.e. £5,000 or as a percentage of your cash savings only.

I would use a solicitor. It’s not free but no
pressure.

Thanks for the insightful comments. Lots to think about!
The last thing I want is to create a difficult process or potential for legal matters for my children when I'm not here, so will also contact a few solicitors to get quotes and take it from there.