How to include a gift in your will | Brooke
Source: https://www.thebrooke.org/get-involved/how-include-gift-your-will
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:30
How to include a gift in your will | Brooke
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How to include a gift in your will
Gifts in Wills help us focus our efforts and funds where the need is greatest. Including a gift to Brooke in your Will is simple with these handy hints.
Get your free guide to leaving a legacy
Your Will is your chance to take care of everything that's important to you - it lets you decide what happens to your money, property and possessions when you're no longer here. Many people believe that writing a Will is complicated, but in fact it's straightfoward and our
Free Will Service
can help you.
Angela Rippon shares 6 easy steps to writing a Will
Before you start writing your Will
If you decide to include a gift in your Will, here are six things to consider before you meet your solicitor or Will-writing service.
List your most valuable possessions
Jot down any property you own, valuables such as jewellery, or savings or investments. This will then become known as your estate.
Note down what you think they’re worth
Make a rough estimate of the value of each item.
Take care of your loved ones
Now consider what you want to leave to them before thinking about the rest of your estate.
Consider the causes you’re closest to
Think about which charities or causes are important to you, and that you would like to remember in your Will.
Check who you want to carry out your wishes
You’ll need to consider who you’ll want to manage your estate when you’re gone. They will be known as your Executor.
Get in touch with your solicitor or Will-writing service
You’re now ready to get your Will written by a solicitor or a Will-writing service.
Download your free step-by-step Will Planner to help you gather your thoughts in one place before you meet with your solicitor or Will-writing service:
Download Will Planner
Including a gift in your Will to charity is not only a way to carry on supporting something you feel passionately about during your life, it also has the advantage of not counting towards what's taxable - see more on
tax relief for charitable gifts
.
There are 3 types of gift you can include in your Will:
A Residuary gift
This is a share of your estate, or the whole of the remainder of your estate once your other wishes and expenses have been met.
A Pecuniary gift
This is a specified sum of money that is fixed within your Will.
A
Specific gift
This is the gift of a particular physical item or items in your Will.
When it comes to writing or amending your Will we’ve put together some
useful wording
for each different type of gift that might be helpful to you.
If you are updating an existing Will
If you’ve already made a Will and want to make a small update, you can do this without rewriting the whole thing. Instead you can amend your Will with a document called a Codicil. A Codicil acts as an amendment to your Will, and will need to be properly drawn up and signed in the same way as a Will for it to be valid – so you’ll need to consult a solicitor. All types of gifts to charity can be added to an existing Will using a Codicil – and we have
provided some suggested wording
to help you. For more complicated changes a new Will may be necessary - you will need to speak to your solicitor or a Will-writing service about this.
Get your free guide to leaving a legacy
For more information call the Legacy team on 0207 470 9343.
Any time between 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday.
“I’m very confident that my legacy will bring about the change that I want to see. Change that will eradicate suffering and improve the lives of working animals and their families around the world.”
Legacy supporter Fiona wants the opportunity to give something back to the animals she cares about so much.
Please be aware that this is for information only and not intended to be legal advice. Please make sure you seek legal advice before putting these measures in place as the requirements to make a Will legal may change.
SEE ALSO
Frequently asked questions
Things to consider when leaving a gift in your Will, as well as key legal terms and what they mean.
See how legacies transform lives
Read heart-warming stories about the transformative power of legacies on entire communities and their working animals.
Making changes to your Will
Find out how you can make changes to your Will.
Get your free guide to leaving a legacy
Share this
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Skip to content
How to include a gift in your will
Gifts in Wills help us focus our efforts and funds where the need is greatest. Including a gift to Brooke in your Will is simple with these handy hints.
Get your free guide to leaving a legacy
Your Will is your chance to take care of everything that's important to you - it lets you decide what happens to your money, property and possessions when you're no longer here. Many people believe that writing a Will is complicated, but in fact it's straightfoward and our
Free Will Service
can help you.
Angela Rippon shares 6 easy steps to writing a Will
Before you start writing your Will
If you decide to include a gift in your Will, here are six things to consider before you meet your solicitor or Will-writing service.
List your most valuable possessions
Jot down any property you own, valuables such as jewellery, or savings or investments. This will then become known as your estate.
Note down what you think they’re worth
Make a rough estimate of the value of each item.
Take care of your loved ones
Now consider what you want to leave to them before thinking about the rest of your estate.
Consider the causes you’re closest to
Think about which charities or causes are important to you, and that you would like to remember in your Will.
Check who you want to carry out your wishes
You’ll need to consider who you’ll want to manage your estate when you’re gone. They will be known as your Executor.
Get in touch with your solicitor or Will-writing service
You’re now ready to get your Will written by a solicitor or a Will-writing service.
Download your free step-by-step Will Planner to help you gather your thoughts in one place before you meet with your solicitor or Will-writing service:
Download Will Planner
Including a gift in your Will to charity is not only a way to carry on supporting something you feel passionately about during your life, it also has the advantage of not counting towards what's taxable - see more on
tax relief for charitable gifts
.
There are 3 types of gift you can include in your Will:
A Residuary gift
This is a share of your estate, or the whole of the remainder of your estate once your other wishes and expenses have been met.
A Pecuniary gift
This is a specified sum of money that is fixed within your Will.
A
Specific gift
This is the gift of a particular physical item or items in your Will.
When it comes to writing or amending your Will we’ve put together some
useful wording
for each different type of gift that might be helpful to you.
If you are updating an existing Will
If you’ve already made a Will and want to make a small update, you can do this without rewriting the whole thing. Instead you can amend your Will with a document called a Codicil. A Codicil acts as an amendment to your Will, and will need to be properly drawn up and signed in the same way as a Will for it to be valid – so you’ll need to consult a solicitor. All types of gifts to charity can be added to an existing Will using a Codicil – and we have
provided some suggested wording
to help you. For more complicated changes a new Will may be necessary - you will need to speak to your solicitor or a Will-writing service about this.
Get your free guide to leaving a legacy
For more information call the Legacy team on 0207 470 9343.
Any time between 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday.
“I’m very confident that my legacy will bring about the change that I want to see. Change that will eradicate suffering and improve the lives of working animals and their families around the world.”
Legacy supporter Fiona wants the opportunity to give something back to the animals she cares about so much.
Please be aware that this is for information only and not intended to be legal advice. Please make sure you seek legal advice before putting these measures in place as the requirements to make a Will legal may change.
SEE ALSO
Frequently asked questions
Things to consider when leaving a gift in your Will, as well as key legal terms and what they mean.
See how legacies transform lives
Read heart-warming stories about the transformative power of legacies on entire communities and their working animals.
Making changes to your Will
Find out how you can make changes to your Will.
Get your free guide to leaving a legacy
Share this
Contact us
Jobs
Terms & conditions
Accessibility
Privacy statement
Cookies
Our fundraising promise
FAQs
Media enquiries
Brooke Netherlands
Brooke USA
X
YouTube
Close modal