Originally published: 22 March 2017 | Last updated: 16 October 2025
TL;DR: Planned giving through Will-based charity donations stands as a powerful method to back your preferred social causes. Only 5: 6% of UK adults choose to make charitable donations through their Wills although these gifts tend to exceed the money they donate when they are alive. The inheritance tax rate decreases from 40% to 36% when you donate at least ten percent of your estate to charity organizations. People who want to support charities during their lifetime tend to choose animal welfare organizations and medical research institutes and humanitarian aid organizations according to LegalWills.co.uk data.
What is planned giving?
You can create planned gifts by directing your Will to donate money and assets together with estate percentages to charity organizations. The practice of donating through Wills became known as charitable bequests or legacy giving. The Charities Aid Foundation states that 70% of UK adults donate to charities throughout their lives yet only 5: 6% of them add charitable donations to their Wills.
LegalWills.co.uk includes planned giving services as part of every Will they create for their clients. Any registered charity can receive your donation through a specified sum or particular asset or through a portion of your remaining estate.
Who includes charities in their Will?
The analysis of anonymous Will-writing data from LegalWills.co.uk shows which people in the UK decide to make planned donations through their Wills:
The data shows that charitable bequests are most common among people aged 55 and over, and are slightly more common among those who are single, widowed, or divorced than among married couples. People who do not have spouses or children tend to have fewer people who need to share their property after death.
What types of charitable bequests do people make?
There are three main types of charitable bequest:
Type
Description
Example
Specific bequestA fixed amount of money or a specific asset£5,000 to Cancer Research UK
Residuary bequestA percentage of whatever remains after debts, taxes, and specific gifts10% of residuary estate to RSPCA
Contingent bequestA gift that only applies if other beneficiaries predecease youIf no surviving family, entire estate to British Heart Foundation
How many charitable bequests are typical?
Most people who include charities in their Will name between 1 and 3 organisations. The data from LegalWills.co.uk shows the distribution:
How large are charitable bequests?
The size of charitable bequests varies enormously. Specific bequests which consist of fixed amounts usually fall between several hundred pounds and far-reaching amounts which reach into the tens of thousands. The value of residuary bequests (percentage of estate) grows substantially because they depend on the total worth of the estate.
Which charity sectors receive the most bequests?
The most popular sectors for charitable bequests through LegalWills.co.uk are:
Animal welfare: organisations like the RSPCA, Dogs Trust, and Cats Protection
Medical research: Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation, Alzheimer’s Society
Humanitarian: Red Cross, Oxfam, Save the Children
Hospice and palliative care: local hospices and Marie Curie
Religious organisations
Environmental: National Trust, WWF, Woodland Trust
Why should you consider a charitable bequest?
You can provide larger donations through your death because you lose the need to maintain your financial resources.
You will receive tax advantages because your Will-based charitable donations will not face inheritance tax charges. The IHT rate on your remaining estate will decrease to 36% from 40% when you donate ten percent or more of your net estate value to charity organizations.
Lasting legacy: A charitable bequest creates a permanent impact that outlives you.
No lifetime sacrifice: Unlike regular donations, a bequest costs you nothing during your lifetime.
Flexibility: A residuary bequest automatically adjusts to the final value of your estate.
Does using an online Will service affect charitable giving?
Research shows that people who create their Wills through different methods do not show any difference in their decision to leave money for charity. People who use online Will services like LegalWills.co.uk include charities at the same rate as those who use solicitors. The key factor is not how the Will is prepared, but whether the service makes it easy to include charitable gifts, which LegalWills.co.uk does as a standard part of every Will.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I leave money to charity in my Will?
LegalWills.co.uk offers users the ability to include charitable donations during their Will creation process. You can make your donation official by giving the charity name together with their registered charity number and by stating the donation value or donation percentage you want to contribute.
Can I leave money to any charity?
Yes. You can leave a bequest to any registered charity in the UK or internationally. Include the full legal name and registered charity number to avoid any ambiguity.
Does leaving money to charity reduce inheritance tax?
Yes. Charitable gifts are exempt from IHT. If you leave 10% or more of your net estate to charity, the IHT rate on the taxable portion drops from 40% to 36%, potentially saving your other beneficiaries thousands of pounds.
What if the charity I name no longer exists when I die?
The gift will go to the organization which replaced the named charity when it combined with another entity or stopped operating (or it will fail and return to the remaining estate). Including a clause such as “or its successor organisation” can help prevent this.
Can I change my charitable bequest later?
Yes. You can update your Will at any time to add, remove, or change charitable bequests. At LegalWills.co.uk, updates during your subscription are included.
He has over 20 years of experience helping people to write their Will and other estate planning documents. He has been interviewed by many of the major news media outlets and has contributed to articles in most leading publications. He has also contributed to a number of financial planning books.
Throughout his career, Tim has written extensively on the subject of Will writing and estate planning.
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