Leaving a legacy
Leaving a legacy to North West London Hospitals NHS Trust’s charity, NWLH General Charitable Fund registered charity 1083634, can help provide additional support to Trust patients and staff in areas such as research, equipment purchases and training. The hospitals sites within the remit of the Trust are Northwick Park Hospital, Central Middlesex Hospital and St Mark’s Hospital.
One generous donor’s legacy helped the Trust to complete major refurbishment to the Children’s Centre at Northwick Park Hospital, which dramatically transformed the environment.
If you decide to leave a legacy to the Trust’s charity it is important that your wishes are carried out exactly as you intended.
Including a charitable bequest in your will is reasonably straightforward to do. A solicitor can help you draw up a will. Using a solicitor to help you make a will is recommended, as a homemade will can be unclear or null and void. The solicitor will charge a small fee for drawing up a will so ask how much before you decide whom to go to.
If you already have a will and would like to amend it to include a legacy to North West London Hospitals General Charitable Fund you do not have to draw up a new will. A solicitor can help you draw up a document called a codicil, which amends your will. Please check with your solicitor, as they will charge a small fee for this.
Please note that currently any money you leave in a legacy to the charity is not subject to inheritance tax. Your solicitor will be able to advise you on this.
Type of Legacies
There are three common types of legacy:
Residuary bequest
A residuary bequest is when the testator (person who made the will) gifts the remainder of the estate after all other bequests and liabilities have been made.
Pecuniary bequest
A gift of a fixed sum of money in the will; the value of pecuniary bequest can decrease over time due to inflation.
Specific bequest
A particular named item left in the will (such as furniture, property, furniture equipment, stocks and shares etc.)
Wording Your Legacy
If you would like to leave a legacy to North West London Hospitals General Charitable Fund you will need to contact a solicitor to let them know what you want to do. Below are examples of the wording you can ask the solicitor to use to ensure that your wishes are followed.
It is important that the following clauses below are inserted your will, which ever wording you use:
Residuary Bequest
‘I give % not otherwise disposed of by this my Will subject to and after payment of my funeral and testamentary expenses to North West London Hospitals General Charitable Fund Registered Charity 1083634 of Watford Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 3UJ to be expended in [GENERAL REQUEST, DEPARTMENT (if known), TRUST FUND NAME (if known)] and I direct that the receipt of the Treasurer of North West London Hospitals General Charitable Fund for the time being shall be a full and sufficient discharge to my Executor’.
Pecuniary Bequest
‘I give free of duty to North West London Hospitals General Charitable Fund, Registered Charity 1083634 of Watford Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 3UJ the sum of £…………. to be expended in [GENERAL REQUEST, DEPARTMENT (if known), TRUST FUND NAME (if known)] and I direct that the receipt of the Treasurer of North West London Hospitals General Charitable Fund for the time being shall be a full and sufficient discharge to my Executor’.
Please remember to use the full name of the North West London Hospitals General Charitable Fund and the correct charity number and registered address.
For more information on leaving a legacy or the North West London Hospitals NHS Trust charity please contact:
Wendy George,
Trust Fund Accountant,
Finance Department,
North West London Hospitals NHS Trust,
Watford Road,
Harrow,
HA1 3UJ
Phone: 020 8869 3349
Or see the Charity Commission of England and Wales website for details of the charity: www.charity-commission.gov.uk