Leaving a legacy to The Bill McLaren Foundation
Leaving a legacy in your will to The Bill McLaren Foundation is a most generous thing to do.
Bill McLaren meant a great deal to so many of us. He was a man who represented all that is best about rugby union and was known as “The Voice of Rugby” not just because of the beauty of his tone and the delight of his imaginative phrasing, but because he portrayed our game as we would always wish it to be.
Before he died, Bill gave his backing to the Foundation which has now been set up in his name. With the continued support of his family, the Foundation aims:
- To develop and promote the sport of rugby union and its values
- To encourage and provide sporting opportunities for young people
- To create an educative centre which will include the Bill McLaren Archive
The Foundation would like your help to accomplish this. Once you have looked after your family and friends, a bequest of any size would be most gratefully appreciated.
Inheritance Tax
Leaving a legacy to charity can also help with your inheritance tax burden as gifts to charities are "removed" before the value of your estate is calculated for tax. All gifts during your lifetime, or legacies under your will, to a registered charity are exempt from Inheritance Tax.
To tell or not to tell...
Legacy giving is a highly personal gift. It is entirely up to you as to whether you wish to inform us of any provision you make in your will. However if we do know about your bequest then we will be able to keep you informed of the Foundation’s work, which we’d really like to do, and any information received will be treated in strict confidence. Your will can, of course, be altered by you at any time, so making a bequest in your will now, is not binding and can be altered or deleted in the future.
How do I leave a legacy?
Including a legacy in your will is a straightforward process - usually just adding a simple paragraph, although we do recommend that you use a qualified solicitor.
If you already have a will and only wish to make a minor change then it may be possible to make a ‘codicil’ or 'addition' to this effect, which is easy and inexpensive to do.
Types of legacy
There are three types of legacy that you can leave:
Residuary legacy - you can leave all or part of the remains of your estate once your family, friends and other beneficiaries have been looked after.
Pecuniary legacy - you can leave a specific sum of money.
And if you want to make sure that the sum of money you’re leaving now will have the same relative value at the date of your death as it currently does, you should include wording along the lines of:
“The amount of this legacy to The Bill McLaren Foundation shall be regarded as a provisional amount only and the amount payable shall be that provisional amount or if greater that provisional amount index linked to the retail prices index from the date of this Will to the date of my death.”
Specific items - you can leave specific items such as jewellery, antiques, shares, etc.
We recommend you speak to a solicitor about what type of legacy is best for you. We have provided some sample text that you may wish to give to your solicitor:
For a residuary legacy
“I give XX% of the residue of my estate to The Bill McLaren Foundation, Mansfield Park, Hawick, TD9 8AW Scottish Charity No SC041238 for its general charitable purposes and I declare that the receipt of an appropriate officer shall be a complete discharge to my trustees.”
For a pecuniary legacy
“I give the sum of £XXX to The Bill McLaren Foundation, Mansfield Park, Hawick, TD9 8AW Scottish Charity No SC041238 for its general charitable purposes and I declare that the receipt of an appropriate officer shall be a complete discharge to my trustees.”
For a specific gift
“I give my (description of item, property or shares) to to The Bill McLaren Foundation, Mansfield Park, Hawick, TD9 8AW Scottish Charity No SC041238 for its general charitable purposes and I declare that the receipt of an appropriate officer shall be a complete discharge to my trustees.”
Thank you so much for considering the Bill McLaren Foundation for a legacy in your Will.