Leaving a gift to ACN in your Will FAQs

You may be able to find the answer to your question in our downloadable Legacy leaflet, ‘Thy Will Be Done’.

Q: Can I speak to someone at Aid to the Church in Need about legacies?
A: Our Legacy Officer will be pleased to answer, in confidence, your questions about leaving a gift in your Will. Please contact Tony Smith, our legacy officer via email or telephone.

Q: What does Aid to the Church in Need do with legacy bequests?
A: Legacies help us maintain a regular flow of money to the poor and persecuted Church. Of course, both donations and legacies are subject to fluctuation, but taken together they tend to provide a reasonably stable flow of income to the charity, so that we can plan ahead and fund our projects confidently. Some of our larger projects, such as the building of new seminaries, would simply not be possible without the generosity of benefactors who have left substantial sums to our charity in their Wills.

Q: Can I specify a particular purpose for a legacy to Aid to the Church in Need?
A: You can choose to leave a gift to a specific area of Aid to the Church in Need’s work, but if your legacy is restricted to a particular project, it is possible that circumstances may change in the future and we will no longer be able to use it for that project.
In extreme cases, the law may prevent us from benefiting at all from your Will. Therefore we would prefer your legacy to be for our general charitable purposes, so that we can use your gift where the need is greatest at that time.

Q: I don’t want to leave a specified sum of money to charity, in case there isn’t enough in my estate to pay it.
A: You can leave a share of your estate, rather than a specified sum of money. The amount that we receive will depend on your assets and liabilities when you die. You can ensure that your relatives and friends are left appropriate shares, and then your favourite charities could benefit from whatever share is left. Your solicitor can advise you on how to do this.

Q: I can only leave a few hundred pounds to Aid to the Church in Need. Is this worthwhile?
A: Very much so, because the cost of administering legacies is relatively low and even a modest legacy represents a welcome ‘farewell’ from a supporter of our work.

Q: How does leaving a legacy to charity affect the liability of my estate to Inheritance Tax?
A: Anything you leave to a registered charity in your Will is normally exempt from Inheritance Tax, and will also reduce the potential liability of your whole estate to the tax.