Wills and Legacies

Everyone is strongly recommended to make a will to ensure that when they die their money and property will be distributed according to their wishes and with as little inconvenience as possible to their loved ones. Wills should be reviewed from time to time, especially if circumstances change, and either amended or replaced as necessary.

A will must be correctly written, signed and witnessed and most people will need to use the services of a solicitor or other specialist will writer to ensure that the will is legally binding.

Anyone who is thinking of making or changing their will is recommended to read the excellent leaflet entitled Your Step-by-Step Guide to Making a Will, published by Macmillan Cancer Support. Copies of this leaflet are available at the Cherry Lodge centre.

Leaving a legacy to Cherry Lodge

If you choose to leave a legacy to Cherry Lodge Cancer Care, this will help us continue to provide our much needed services for a long time to come.

Leaving a ‘charitable legacy’ also has tax advantages:

• The value of your bequest will be deducted from your ‘estate’ (the total value of everything you own minus the total value of everything you owe) before inheritance tax is calculated.
• You can also choose to leave to charity 10% or more of your estate (after deduction of your inheritance tax-free allowance). In this case, the rate of inheritance tax on any part of your estate that is subject to this tax will be 36% rather than 40%.

For further information about making a bequest to Cherry Lodge, please call 020 8441 7000 and ask to be put in contact with Graeme Gibson, a Cherry Lodge truste..