Making a new Will

Making a Will is not complicated and should cost around £200. If you need help finding a solicitor, The Law Society is a good place to start.

 

1. Appoint a professional adviser – usually a solicitor.

2. Work out what you have to leave, including the total sum of your property, money and possessions, minus any outstanding debts like mortgages or loans.

3. Decide who you would like to benefit from your Will, such as your family, friends, charities or good causes.

4. Choose executors to ensure your wishes are carried out. These can be professional advisers, friends or family members, or one of each.

5. Finally, keep your Will safe and make sure your executors know where to find it. Give a copy to your solicitor.

   

Different types of legacy

  • A monetary or pecuniary bequest leaves to the College a specified sum of money (which can be index-linked to make sure its value is not reduced by inflation).
  • A residuary bequest leaves to the College a percentage of the remainder of your estate, after other legacies and charges have been met.
  • A reversionary bequest leaves your assets to a named beneficiary (for example your spouse) for their lifetime, with the whole or a proportion reverting to the College on their death.
  • A specific or non monetary bequest allows you to leave shares, property, stocks, pictures or furniture to the College either on terms that they be retained or that they may be sold when advantageous to provide funds for Clare. If you are considering this type of bequest, please contact us so that we can discuss what you have in mind.
   

We recommend using one of the following wordings to leave a legacy to Clare College in your Will, as long as the bequest is straightforward.

If you are leaving a pecuniary bequest (a fixed sum of money), please consider index-linking it using the following form of words so that it preserves its value over time: 

 

“I give to the Master, Fellows and Scholars of Clare College in the University of Cambridge (registered charity no 1137531) (the College) the sum of £(amount) (the Legacy) free of tax and indexed as below for the general charitable purposes of the College and I declare that the receipt of the Bursar or other authorised officer for the time being of the College shall be a good and sufficient discharge to my Executors

I direct that the sum due to the College under this gift shall be the sum of money produced by dividing the Legacy by the index figure in the Index of Retail Prices for the month in which this Will is executed and (having made allowance for any re-basing of the Index which may have happened in the meantime) multiplying it by the index figure in that Index for the month in which my death occurs. If when the time comes the second of these figures is not available (because that Index has ceased publication or for any other reason) my Executors (making use if they wish of any other index which may seem to them relevant and obtaining any advice which they may think desirable) shall reach a decision (which shall bind the College and everyone interested in my estate) as to what in their view that index figure would have been if it had been available and shall use the figure on which they decide for the purposes of the calculation’’

For a basic pecuniary bequest (non-index-linked) please use this form of words:

 

“I give to the Master, Fellows and Scholars of Clare College in the University of Cambridge (registered charity no 1137531) the sum of £(amount) free of tax for the general purposes of the College and I declare that the receipt of the Bursar or other authorised officer for the time being of the College shall be a good and sufficient discharge to my executors.”

 

For a residual request (percentage of estate), please use the following form of words:

 

“I give to the Master, Fellows and Scholars of Clare College in the University of Cambridge (registered charity no 1137531) the residue of / ( proportion) of the residue of my estate/the sum of £(amount) free of tax for the general purposes of the College and I declare that the receipt of the Bursar or other authorised officer for the time being of the College shall be a good and sufficient discharge to my executors.”

If you are planning on leaving a more complicated bequest, please contact your solicitor for advice.  

   

Updating an existing Will

If you already have a Will, but you have decided that you would like to leave a gift to Clare College, there's no need to rewrite it completely - you just need to add a simple codicil.

A codicil doesn't have to change the terms of your Will: it is a supplement, which changes or amends part of the Will. If you decide to change your Will substantially, we would suggest that you contact your solicitor for advice.

 

Find out more

  

If you would like to find out more about leaving a legacy to Clare College, please follow these links to some useful documents and additional information:

      

If you have any questions or you need more advice, please feel free to contact the Development Office, who will be happy to help you.

 

 


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