Leave a legacy gift to Cara-Friend
Cara-Friend is a local charity providing services only in NI.
Cara-Friend raises and spends all of its money in NI.
Thank you so much for considering leaving us a legacy gift in your Will.
What your gift could achieve
Leaving a gift to Cara-Friend is one of the most long term and valuable ways of supporting our work. More and more people are finding that, after they have ensured family and friends are taken care of, leaving a gift to Cara-Friend is a wonderful way of making a positive impact on the lives of many other LGBTQIA+ people both now and in the future.
Your gift, no matter how small, will greatly assist Cara-Friend to continue delivering its vital support services.
How to leave us a gift in your Will
Leaving a legacy gift is an important decision and one that much thought should be given to, it doesn’t however have to be complicated. Here are some of the basics:
- State in your Will that you would like to leave a gift to Cara-Friend. We recommend using a solicitor or professional will-writer to make sure your Will is legal and valid.
- Include our full name and Address, to make sure the money goes to the right place: Cara-Friend, LGBT Centre 22 Waring Street Belfast BT1 2DX Charity Registration No. 106210
- If you would like your gift to be used for a specific purpose or in a specific location, you can add this in to your Will.
- If you have already written us into your Will, we’re very grateful and would love it if you could let us know.
What types of gift can you leave?
We receive many different types of gift in people’s Wills, and we’re so grateful for every single one. Here are a few types of gift you can leave us:
- A share of your estate. After you’ve provided for your family and friends, you can leave a share, or the remainder, of your estate to us. This is called a ‘residuary gift’.
- Cash gift. This is when you leave an exact sum of money to us. It’s known as a ‘pecuniary gift’.
- A specific gift. Perhaps property or jewellery.
- A gift in trust. You can leave a gift for someone to use over a period of time. When the time has ended, the gift can be passed on to other recipients, such as Cara-Friend. We would strongly recommend always asking a solicitor about gifts in trusts, life interests and conditional gifts. It is important to word these gifts very carefully to make sure your wishes are reflected and your loved ones are taken care of as you intend.
What about Inheritance Tax?
Leaving a gift to a charity can reduce your Inheritance Tax Bill and in certain circumstances reduce the rate of Inheritance Tax payable.
Your beneficiaries will only have to pay Inheritance Tax if your estate is over a certain value. If they do have to pay it, 40% will be deducted from the portion of your estate that’s over the threshold. The threshold can change, so keep up-to-date with the current rules so your loved ones don’t pay more Inheritance Tax than they need to. You can make gifts in the terms of your Will which may help to minimise your estate’s Inheritance Tax liability. These include gifts between spouses and gifts to charities.
If you have any questions or would like any advice about inheritance tax, please talk to your legal advisor.
Inheritance Tax
- Currently paid to the Government at a rate of 40% on any part of your estate over £325,000 for a single nil rate band and up to £650,000 for estates with the benefit of a Transferable nil rate band (as at time of writing)
- Most gifts left to Cara-Friend are exempt from this tax because we’re a charity
- In April 2012, the government introduced a change to Inheritance Tax legislation
meaning in some situations, anyone leaving 10% or more of their taxable estate to charity like Cara-Friend may qualify for a reduced rate of Inheritance Tax.
You can find more information on Inheritance Tax on the HMRC website:
www.hmrc.gov.uk/inheritancetax.
You can make a difference
Cara-Friend relies on the generosity of the Northern Ireland public to fund its services. Every penny received by the charity is spent in Northern Ireland for the people of Northern Ireland.
When you leave a gift in your Will to Cara-Friend you can be assured that it will be well spent in helping local LGBTQIA+ people now and in the future