What A Legacy Can Achieve
Petsavers has received valuable income from donations made to the charity by animal lovers in their wills. The work it funds has helped the diagnosis and treatment of thousands of pets across the UK. The first Petsavers’ award set the standard. A study of joint disease in the dog provided vets with criteria for accurate diagnosis of certain joint diseases, thus leading to more appropriate treatment. Petsavers’ funding of work into canine parvovirus when this virus first emerged allowed ground-breaking work on its diagnosis to be rapidly undertaken, which contributed to the national control of the disease.
The full guide to leaving a legacy to Petsavers can be downloaded here, if you would like a hard copy please contact us on info@petsavers.org.uk or call 01452 726723
Why Make A Will?
A will is a legal instruction specifying what you want to happen to your possessions and your money after your death. Once all financial obligations and expenses are taken care of, it makes sure that all your possessions and money are given to the people you choose to receive them. A will also makes sure that your wishes for the care of dependants, including your pets, are known.
If you die without leaving a will what happens to your money and possessions is decided by the law. This can often lead to distress and expense for those left behind in making any claim. If you are not married but have been living with someone, the person you are living with has no automatic rights to anything. If you have no family all your assets could go to the Government.
Perhaps you have friends to whom you would like to leave some treasured belongings? A will is the only way to ensure this happens. The consequences of not making a will can be considerable. Making a will gives you peace of mind.
Inheritance Tax
It is important to consider inheritance tax when writing your will. The rules on inheritance tax often change each year in April, so you should always check with HM Revenue & Customs or seek legal advice on this issue.
The value of a gift in your Will to a charity is deducted before the estate is assessed for inheritance tax, so a gift to Petsavers could reduce your liability for inheritance tax.
A guide to inheritance tax can be found on the HM Revenue & Customs website www.hmrc.gov.uk/inheritancetax
Leaving a Donation to Petsavers in Your Will
Having made all the necessary provisions for family, friends and pets, you may wish to leave some of your assets to Petsavers. A donation made in your will is called a “bequest” or a “legacy”. Bequests are a very valuable source of income for Petsavers. Any bequest made to Petsavers is wholly exempt from tax.
There are three main types of bequest:
Residuary Bequest
You may wish to leave a specific sum of money or personal possessions to a named person or a number of people. The rest of your assets, once the above wishes have been fulfilled, are known as your residual estate. You may wish to leave your whole residual estate or a fraction of your residual estate to charity. For example, you may decide to leave 10% to be used for the general purposes of Petsavers.
Download the wording for a residuary bequest
Pecuniary Bequest
You may wish to leave a fixed sum of money to charity. This is known as a pecuniary bequest. For example, you may wish to leave Petsavers a donation of £5,000.
Download the wording for a pecuniary bequest
Specific Bequest
You may wish to leave a specific gift to Petsavers that might be used by the charity to generate funds. This could include shares, property or an item of value. For example, you may wish to leave your house to Petsavers.
Download the wording for a specific bequest
How to Make a Will
If you have not yet made a will you are advised to seek legal advice in doing so to ensure that your wishes are conveyed in the correct legal manner. You should always seek legal advice in preparing or updating your will, to ensure that it is valid. It may not be as burdensome or as expensive as you might think.
Updating Your Will
If you have already drafted a will it is important that you keep it under review. You may find that your wishes alter as a result of major changes in your life, which may affect the financial security of yourself and those around you. If you decide to add Petsavers as a new beneficiary to your existing will you can prepare a codicil. A codicil is a legal document modifying, revoking or adding to an existing will. If you wish to make any changes to your will you must not make these directly onto your will. To ensure your bequest is made to the right charity it is important to specify the charity number, which is unique to each charity. It is also helpful to your executors if the full name and address of the charity you have made a bequest to is up to date.
The correct details for Petsavers are:
Name: ‘Petsavers, British Small Animal Veterinary Association’
Registered charity number: 1024811
Address: Woodrow House
1 Telford Way
Waterwells Business Park
Quedgeley
Gloucester GL2 2AB
Please note that Petsavers was formerly known as the Clinical Studies Trust Fund (CSTF). If you have already named CSTF in your Will you may wish to consider updating the charities name and details, if and when you make a codicil.
Other ways to remember Petsavers
Many people now ask to receive donations to charity in lieu of flowers at a funeral. If this is your preference, then you can ensure that your wishes are followed by making your family and friends know which charities you would like donations to go to. You can also incorporate your wishes into your will. You will need to specify where donations should be sent and to whom cheques should be payable. For example, “Instead of sending flowers to my funeral I would prefer donations to be sent to my favourite charity ‘Petsavers’. Please make cheques payable to ‘BSAVA, Petsavers’, and send to Petsavers at BSAVA, Woodrow House,1 Telford Way Waterwells Business Park, Quedgeley, Gloucester GL2 2AB. Please identify the reason for your contribution when making a donation.”