Leave us a gift in your Will

Your first priority when making a will is to provide for your loved ones but most people find that they can also leave something to a cause important to them.

Why leave a gift to us?

We are the only UK charity working to inform and empower people to exercise their rights and choices around end-of-life care. To do this, we need your help. Whether it’s £50 or £50,000, leaving something to us in your will really does make a difference. It is only due to the generosity of those who’ve helped us in their wills in the past that we’ve been able to achieve so much in recent years.

With a gift in your Will, we can continue supporting people at the end of life, and allow them to have what they consider to be a good death.

Types of Legacies

The five standard types of legacy are described below. Your solicitor or financial advisor will be able to advise you on how best to make or alter your Will to include a legacy to Compassion in Dying.

1. Residuary Legacy – a percentage of the residue of your estate, after the deduction of specific and pecuniary gifts, debts, taxes and costs.
2. Pecuniary Legacy – a specific sum of money.
3. Specific Bequest – a gift such as property, stocks or shares.
4. Conditional Legacy – this addresses the possibility that if none of your named dependants survive you, your estate (or part of it) will be left to Compassion in Dying.
5. Reversionary Legacy – a gift that passes to Compassion in Dying only after the death of a spouse or relative.

Professional legal advice is always recommended when you are drawing up or changing your Will.

Will wording

Some wording that may be useful for leaving a gift in your Will to Compassion in Dying can be found below:

Pecuniary bequest

“I give to Compassion in Dying of 181 Oxford Street, London W1D 2JT the sum of £….. for the general purposes of the organisation and declare that the receipt of the Secretary or other authorised officer for the time being of the said organisation shall be sufficient discharge to my Executors.”

Residuary bequest

“I give the whole (or ….%) to Compassion in Dying of 181 Oxford Street, London W1D 2JT for the general purposes of the organisation and declare that the receipt of the Secretary or other authorised officer for the time being of the said organisation shall be sufficient discharge to my Executors.”

If you have already made a Will and wish to add a bequest to Compassion in Dying, this can be achieved by adding a Codicil to your existing Will. You should sign the Codicil before two adult witnesses (who are not beneficiaries of the Will) who will also sign. The Codicil should be kept with your Will but not attached with pins or staples, as this would invalidate it.

Our details

Compassion in Dying is a company limited by guarantee no. 05856324. We are a registered charity in England and Wales no. 1120203.