Not always an easy subject to raise, but in the charity sector leaving money in your will is an incredibly valuable way to support a charity that is close to your heart.
We would always suggest that you seek legal advice when drawing up a will; some banks offer this service to account holders, so it is always worth asking. We also know of some will writing specialists; please email for details.
The following details are designed to help you with the process.
Gifts in wills (legacies) are one of the main sources of income for UK charities. Currently, charitable donations in wills are worth around £1.3bn a year – this money has a major impact on the work charities do and is extremely important to all sorts of causes.
There are two main methods of leaving gifts to charity in a will:
A specific gift
This could be a specified sum of money or perhaps a specific item such as gift of jewellery, stocks or property. If you opt to give a specific cash sum, you should remember that rises in inflation will affect the value of this over time and reduce the final impact of the gift. For example, a bequest of £1,000 that was written into a will in 1987 might now only be worth the equivalent of £400.
The residue of your estate
After remembering family and friends in your will, you may like to leave some or all of what is left over to charity. This is the best way to leave a gift to charity as it is not affected directly by inflation, so your charity will receive the maximum possible benefit from your generosity.
The Behçet’s Syndrome Society is moving into areas of work that in the past it was unable to contemplate due to availability of funds, including awareness of the disease in the medical sector and even genetic research. This is clearly very costly and will need funding for some time. Naming opportunities to remember a loved one will become available, and anyone considering this invaluable gift should contact the Director (email info@behcetsdisease.co.uk or telephone 0845 1307328) for confidential advice. 
