A gift in your Will
Leaving a legacy to SolarAid is one of the most amazing things you could do. Clean, renewable energy is vital for fighting poverty sustainably.
Planning your will is an important decision that takes time. As you consider how best to care for the needs of your family and friends, you may want to consider the causes that are important to you. A gift in your will can help us plan our work far into the future.
However big or small your gift is, you can be sure that it will mean a lot to the people we work with. For instance, £6,000 could pay for the installation of a full solar photovoltaic system for a community centre in a rural village in Malawi with no access to electricity. The solar energy would power their lighting, computer, video recorder, TV and other electrical equipment, which they can then use for evening classes, literacy lessons, training in income generating, classes on good nutrition and hygiene, and other educational activities.
Making a Will is the only way to ensure that on your death, your property and affairs are dealt with according to your wishes. Without a Will, the law decides what happens to your estate. Many married people assume that when they die everything they own will automatically pass to their spouse, but this is not always the case. Also, for unmarried couples there is no automatic right of inheritance for the other partner.
If you’d like to leave a legacy to SolarAid, you can inform us of this through a legacy pledge form. This does not commit you in any legal sense to leaving a legacy to SolarAid. You can change your mind at any time. It is also entirely up to you what information you choose to give us about the legacy you want to make.
Types of legacies
A residuary legacy is the gift of the remainder of your estate (or a percentage of the remainder) after all other gifts to friends and family have been given out and all outgoings dealt with. A residuary legacy is the best way of leaving a legacy to SolarAid because its value increases in line with inflation.
A pecuniary legacy is a fixed sum of money. Pecuniary legacies tend to decrease in value over time because of inflation. They need to be reviewed to maintain their original value. For instance, a legacy of £1,000 written into a will in 1980 would have lost two-thirds of its value by today because of inflation. You can also index link a pecuniary legacy to inflation so that it maintains its intended value.
A specific legacy is a particular item of value that has been left in your will, for example stocks and shares, property, life insurance policies or jewellery.
Drawing up a Will
SolarAid recommends using a solicitor to make or amend a Will to ensure that it is legally valid and that your wishes will be carried out.
STEP (the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners) can give you with a local list of solicitors who have experience in drawing up wills. Contact STEP on +44 (0)20 7763 7152 or online at http://www.step.org.
Writing your legacy
Your solicitor will know how to word a legacy, but you might find the following wording useful:
I give to SolarAid, 91-94 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7AB (Registered Charity No 1115960):
all the residue of my estate
% share of the residue of my estate
the sum of £…
an item or items of value (please give a full description)
to be used by SolarAid for its general purposes. I direct that the receipt of the Treasurer or other duly authorised officer shall be sufficient discharge of the said legacy.
SolarAid could benefit from your company pension
If you are a member of a company pension scheme, you can fill in an expression of wish form to benefit SolarAid. If you die, part or all of the life insurance benefit will be paid to your chosen beneficiaries. The expression of wish form notifies the trustees of your wishes. It is simple and has no legal complications. Not all company pensions schemes can do this, so you need to check with your employer.
