Gifts in wills

To find out more about why making a Will is important, please watch this 30 minute webinar, hosted by Trent Wills and Estates.

The  Wildlife Trust is a member of Remember a Charity, an organisation dedicated to raising awareness of remembering charities in Wills and making the process as simple as possible. They have created an easy to follow guide for getting started on your Will.

Alternatively, contact a qualified legal professional. The Law Society can provide you with a directory of solicitors near you.

Absolutely. We are so grateful for any amount you feel able to leave in your Will for wildlife and all gifts make a difference.

There are two types of gift you can leave in your Will:

• A specific sum; This is a gift of a set amount of money.
• A share of your estate; This is a percentage of your estate after all other gifts and expenses have been paid. These gifts are very important to us as they usually maintain their value or increase over time. This also means you're less likely to need to amend it in the future.

While we’re unable to provide specific legal advice, we are happy to talk to you about how your gift could be used to protect wildlife. Remember a Charity work with many Will writing professionals and solicitors that can help you to write or update your Will. The Law Society can also provide you with a list of local solicitors.

The cost of writing a Will varies depending on how complicated it is.  Although, we have some local Solicitors and Will Writers offering a free or discounted Will writing service. Contact our fundraising team for details or see the list of current offers.

It’s worth thinking about what you want to include in your Will before seeing a solicitor. You should consider:

• Consider who you would like to be your executor, the person who will carry out the wishes in your Will.
• What money and belongings do you have? For example, property, savings, pensions, insurance policies and bank accounts.
• Who do you want to remember in your Will? List all your family members, friends and the causes you care about.

If you already have a Will and would like to make some small changes, you do not need to make a new Will. Instead you can add a codicil to your Will and send it to your solicitor. A codicil is a document which allows you to make changes or additions to an existing Will and must be read in conjunction with it.

If you decide to include a gift to the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, it’s easy.

All you have to do is give your solicitor the following registered address and registered charity number and your solicitor will do the rest.

Full name: Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust

Registered Charity No: 224168

Our address: The Old Ragged School, Brook Street, Nottingham, NG1 1EA

If you’ve decided you want to remember Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust in your Will, you can take the following wording to your solicitor. They will make sure your Will is valid and that your wishes are followed.

• A specific sum of money

My bequest to Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust for a set sum - a pecuniary legacy "I give free of tax to Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust (Registered charity number 224168 of The Old Ragged School, Brook Street, Nottingham, NG1 1EA), the sum of £______ for the general purposes of the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and I declare that the receipt of their Treasurer or other proper officer shall be a full and sufficient discharge.

• A share of your estate

My bequest to Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust of the residual estate (or a proportion of) - a residuary or percentage legacy "Subject to the payment of my debts, funeral and testamentary expenses, I give the whole (residuary) or ______% of my estate not otherwise disposed of by this my Will to Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust (Registered charity number 224168 of The Old Ragged School, Brook Street, Nottingham, NG1 1EA), for the general purposes of the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and I declare that the receipt of their Treasurer or other proper officer shall be a full and sufficient discharge.

We really appreciate hearing that you have thought of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust when making your Will. It allows us to say a big thank you for your generosity and if you’d like to hear from us, keep you up to date with the work that our supporters make possible. You can make changes to your Will whenever you want to and letting us know that you’ve thought of us in your Will is not legally binding in any way.

If you are happy to let us know then contact us in confidence.

It’s your Will, and you are entitled to change it as and when you want to. If you do, we would be very grateful to hear from you if you have changed, added, or removed a gift to the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust from your previous Will.