Leaving a gift in your will introduction
Leaving a gift in your Will may help fund scholarships, act as investment in long-term capital projects or simply provide much-needed funds to enhance the School’s charitable objectives.
Central aspires to provide training to the most talented individuals regardless of their financial background, and each year scholarships and bursaries are awarded to exceptional students who would otherwise be unable to take up a place at the School. Your support will enable Central to nurture the future generation of actors, theatre directors, managers and practitioners.
Legacies and bequests are exempt from inheritance tax, meaning that as a registered charity any gift bequeathed to Central will be tax deductible. You can find out more about how leaving money to charity can affect the amount of inheritance tax you pay by visiting hmrc.gov.uk.
Legacy Pledge Form
We encourage those that are kind enough to leave a gift to Central in their Will to let us know. If you intend to leave us a gift, fill in the legacy pledge form.
Information About Leaving a Gift in Your Will
Tell us if you have made a gift in your Will
We encourage those that are kind enough to leave a gift to Central in their Will to let us know. No matter what size it is, if you can let us know of your intentions, it helps us prepare for your gift.
The information you give us will be treated in confidence and will not prevent you from changing your Will in the future at any time if you change your mind, or your circumstances change.
Tax implications of Legacy Giving
Any gift you make to a charity either during your lifetime or in your Will is exempt from inheritance tax. As The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama is a company with exempt charitable status, no inheritance tax will be payable on the amount of your gift.
From 6 April 2012, any estate which leaves at least 10% of its taxable wealth to a charitable cause will be able to take advantage of a reduced rate in inheritance tax, from its normal level of 40% down to 36%. The introduction of this additional tax saving tool is a real
incentive for you to check that the charitable legacies
in your Will, or which you wish to include in your Will,
make up at least 10% of your estate to allow your
estate to benefit from your desire to help others, or
support a particular cause.
For information on inheritance tax planning
please consult your legal advisor.
Other advantages of legacy giving
The advantages of leaving a legacy to Central extend beyond financial benefits.
- Leaving a legacy is an opportunity to continue a lifetime of support. Your critical role in Central’s future success will live on for generations.
- Legacies enable Central to plan for the future.
- You do not have to make a difficult choice between your family and philanthropy. Specifying a legacy alongside family bequests in your Will ensures you can give security to your family and continue to support Central for future generations.
- You and/or your family members could have a lasting memorial.
Information for your solicitor
To ensure the gift in your Will reaches us easily, your solicitor must include our registered company number and our full name and address. The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama is registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee, with exempt charitable status, in England and Wales under Company No. 203645. It’s registered office is Eton Avenue, London NW3 3HY, UK
Guidance about types of legacy
Once you have decided what your gift will be for, you need to decide what type of gift you wish to make and there are five types of gift.
- Pecuniary a gift of a specific amount of money from your estate (e.g. “I shall give £35,000 to The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama”)
- Residuary a gift of the value of your estate once all other pecuniary bequests and expenses have been met (e.g. “I shall give 70% of the value of my estate to The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama”).
- Specific a gift of property, stocks or shares and collections, or you may like to make Central the recipient of any royalties or other creative rights. If you would like to make Central the recipient of any royalties or other creative rights this is known as a specific legacy. If you would like to leave an object to Central this is also known as a specific legacy. If you are thinking of giving an object, we strongly recommend that you tell us first so that we can advise whether the items might be appropriate for the School today.
- Reversionary Allows for your estate, or particular assets, to be passed onto your spouse, children or other named individuals, for their lifetime. On their death the whole or a portion of these assets revert to the beneficiary of the reversionary legacy.
- Conditional A gift in your will that depends on the occurrence of an event which may or may not happen, for example a gift to Central which applies only if the other beneficiaries named in the Will die before the person who made the Will.
Changing your Will to include Central by
using a codicil
If you have already made your Will and now wish to include a gift for Central you may do so by writing a codicil.
A codicil is a supplement to the Will that can make minor changes or amends and allow additions to that Will. It is not a suitable method for making substantial changes to your Will.
If you wish to use a codicil, you may use the attached codicil form, please ensure you sign it in the presence of two adult witnesses and keep it with your existing Will.
We strongly encourage you to seek professional legal advice about writing your Will and making any codicils.
Central’s Gifts in Wills fundraising promise:
- We are committed to the highest standards and follow the Institute of Fundraising’s Code of Fundraising Practice.
- We know that family and loved ones come first when you make a Will.
- We are honest and open about our fundraising activity and costs.
- We will use your gift carefully and cost effectively.
- We respect the rights, privacy and dignity of our supporters and beneficiaries and appreciate that your Will is completely personal to you.
- We will not put pressure on you to make a gift and if you do not want to give or change your mind in the future, we will respect your decision.
- We will give you choice on how you want to be contacted and will respect your decision if you tell us you do not want to hear from us in a particular way.
- We are accountable. If you are unhappy with anything we have done whilst fundraising you can contact us to make a complaint.
If you have any questions you can contact the development team in any of the following ways to discuss leaving a legacy to Central:
| Telephone: | +44 (0)20 7449 1636 |
| Email: | development@cssd.ac.uk |
| Post: | Development Office |
FAQS
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Can I leave a gift in my Will to support Central?
Anyone can remember The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with a gift in their Will. Any gift of any size can be included in a Will and helps us achieve our vision. If you are thinking of making a gift in your Will, we strongly advise that you talk to us first to ensure that Central can use your gift as you intend.
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What sort of gift could I leave in my Will?
Gifts in Wills can be unrestricted or restricted.
Unrestricted gifts allow The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama to consider carefully how to make the best use of each gift to meet the changing priorities of the time.
Restricted Gifts support a certain area of our work. We recommend that you get in touch with us to discuss your intentions, so that the wording of your Will allows us to use your gift as you intend.
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What could a gift in my will support at Central?
A gift in your Will could make a tremendous difference to Central and our students. You may prefer to invite the School’s senior staff to spend your gift in your Will as it is most needed at the time; or you might want, for example, your gift to benefit any of the following areas:
- Scholarships for gifted students or Bursaries for those facing serious financial difficulty
- Support our access work for young people
- Investment in equipment, resources and facilities
- Support teaching posts
(This list is indicative of some of the ways you can ask us to spend a gift in your Will. It is not exhaustive.)
To ensure the School can spend your gift as you intend, we strongly recommend that you avoid over-restricting your gift. We hope that it may be decades before Central receives the gift in your Will and priorities could change during that time period.
Whatever you choose, we recommend that you contact us before including a gift in your Will so that we can discuss what gift best suits you and will make a difference to the School in many years to come.
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What sort of legacy might best suit my family and I?
There are four different types of gifts in Wills which are listed below:
A residuary legacy is a gift of the remainder of your estate, or a percentage, after all other legacies have been made and outstanding debts have been cleared. Residuary legacies keep pace with inflation and are an effective way to divide the value of an estate between a number of people and causes.
A pecuniary legacy is a gift in your Will of a fixed sum of money, but please remember that its true value will decrease over time unless it is index-linked.
A specific legacy is a gift of a particular item, such as royalties. If you are considering leaving royalties or any other specific legacy to The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, we would strongly encourage you to contact us please to discuss your plans so that we can ensure we can use it as you intend.
Areversionary legacyallows a beneficiary such as your spouse or a dependent to benefit from your assets during their lifetime, for example living in your house, with all or part of the asset passing to The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama on their death. It can provide peace of mind that your loved one’s interests will be protected during their lifetime.
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Where should I start?
If you have already completed your Will and would now like to include a legacy to The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, you can easily make an addition by including a codicil which will enable you to amend your Will, without having to completely rewrite it.
If you are starting from scratch you should engage a solicitor to help draft your Will, and choose someone to be an executor to administer your wishes. The next step is to estimate the approximate size of your estate. You could do this by listing everything you own (assets) including money, property, cars and other valuables, and everything you owe (liabilities) including mortgages and other loans. This simple process will help you ensure that your family, friends and others can be provided for in line with your wishes.
We recommend that you consult a professional adviser or solicitor to have your Will drafted or updated.
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What details must my Will contain?
To leave a gift to The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, you must ensure that your Will includes the following information:
- Our full name: The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
- Our registered address: 62-64 Eton Avenue, London, NW3 3HY
- Our exempt charity reference: Central is registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee, with exempt charitable status in England and Wales. The company number you should include in your will is Company No. 203645.
Suggested wording for an unrestricted legacy gift to The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in your Will:
“I give to The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, 62-64 Eton Avenue, London, NW3 3HY (exempt Charity Reference 203645)
- A XX % share of/the residue of my estate
- OR the sum of £____________ (specify value)
….to be used for the general purposes of the Charity, and I declare that the receipt of The Treasurer or duly authorised officer for the time being of the School shall be a full and sufficient discharge to my Executors.”
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What about the tax benefits?
Gifts to charities are taken out of your estate before tax is calculated and are 100% free from tax. This may mean that leaving a gift to charity such as The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama reduces your Inheritance Tax liability. Your professional advisor will be able to tell you more and you may also find the ‘Inheritance Tax’ section of the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website helpful.
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How will you keep me up to date with Central news?
Once you tell us that you have left a gift in your Will we promise to keep you involved in Central’s community for many, many years unless you tell us that you would rather we did not. Based on how you tell us that you would like to hear from us, we will send you regular news and events information and to invite you to at least one event per year.
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Do I need to tell you if I’ve left a gift in my Will?
We appreciate that leaving a gift in your Will is a very personal decision and you may prefer to keep it private for whatever reason. However, we would like the opportunity to thank you if you are happy to share your intention with us and to show you during your lifetime how your gift will make a difference.
If you intend to place a restriction on the use of the money, it is also important to discuss this with Central to ensure that we are able to fulfil your wishes after your death.
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Can I change my mind about leaving a legacy to The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama?
Even if you have told us that you are planning to leave a legacy to The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, you are completely free to alter your Will at any time. You do not even have to let The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama know that you have changed your plans, although of course we would be grateful if you informed us so that we can update our records.
If you have been prompted to change your Will because of a development within The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, please contact us to tell us about your concerns. Of course, you may be prompted to amend your Will because of a happy circumstance, such as the birth of a child or grandchild, and if this is the case you should feel assured that we will completely understand when you contact us to let us know
Supporter Stories
Kitty Corrigan, friend of Central and supporter
Jill Edwards, graduate of Central and supporter
Diana Balsdon, a friend of Central and supporter
Inge Hyman, friend of Central and supporter
