Leaving a gift in your Will is possibly the greatest gift you can offer during your lifetime.

Thank you for considering leaving a gift in your Will. If you don’t yet have a Will, here you can find out more information about the process of making one. If you already have a Will, you can find out how you could update it to include a gift to a charity like RGS.

5 good reasons to make a Will and keep it up to date

• Make sure your wishes are followed
• Help family and friends after you have gone
• Help minimise inheritance tax
• Protect the rights of your partner
• Give to the people and causes that matter to you the most.

The 1675 Society

To help us thank those who have chosen to leave a gift in their Will, we have established The 1675 Society, named in recognition of the year in which the school was founded. All those who tell us they are making a gift to the school are invited to become members and to an annual lunch or tea hosted by the Headmaster.

We know that decisions like this are often private and personal, so no member’s name will be published without their permission.

How to leave a gift in your Will

We appreciate you taking the time to think about supporting RGS and the Changing Lives Campaign in this way and playing a part in creating a future where young people can have the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

3 steps to get started:

• Think – about what you own (your estate and assets) and make a list and about who you’d like to be your executor.
• Plan who you would like to include – we know that, for many people, loved ones will come first, but we also hope you’ll consider leaving a gift to a charitable cause like Changing Lives.  Your help can give children a future where they can fulfil their potential.
• Decide who will write your Will – we would always recommend using a solicitor to write your Will to ensure all legal formalities are carried out correctly, and your Will is written and witnessed in a valid way.

To help, we have asked our partners Morrisons Solicitors to put together a pack to give you advice in the process of making or amending a Will.

Request your free guide

If you have already drawn up your Will, you are able to add a Codicil form to it.  An example Codicil form and Guidelines are available in our information pack.

What type of gift can you leave?

There are several types of legacies:

A cash gift (Pecuniary Legacy)
A pecuniary bequest is a gift of a specific sum of money to a named beneficiary. As the value of a specific sum would decrease over time owing to inflation, it is possible to index-link the sum so that it maintains its current-day value.

A share of your estate (Residuary Legacy)
This involves leaving all or part of the net residue of your estate to Reigate Grammar School once other bequests have been made. It has more flexibility than a pecuniary bequest because you do not have to quantify the sum or take inflation into account when you draw up your Will.

A gift in Trust (Reversionary Legacy)
This is a way of providing for your family first and then benefitting Reigate Grammar School. It involves leaving the assets to trustees so that the named beneficiaries can enjoy the income during their lifetime, with the whole or a portion reverting to Reigate Grammar School on their death.

Conditional Legacy
This provides for the eventuality that if none of your named dependants survive you, your estate will be left to other named beneficiaries and charities including Reigate Grammar School.

A specific gift
This involves leaving a specific personal possession to Reigate Grammar School: examples include property, jewellery, antiques, works of art, stocks and shares.

Tax Implications
Inheritance Tax is payable following your death if your estate is worth more than a certain amount after your liabilities have been deducted. The Inheritance Tax threshold is usually reviewed annually in the Budget. HMRC have the up to date and latest information on tax-efficient giving available on their website hmrc.gov.uk.

The school is a Registered Charity and any bequests that you make in your Will are exempt from Inheritance Tax. Bequests made to Reigate Grammar School would normally be deducted from the net balance of your estate and reduce the amount which is liable for Inheritance Tax. In this way you can ensure less of your money is lost to the State on your death.

The guidance given here is not intended to be legal or tax planning advice and we recommend that specialist advice should be taken in each individual case. Please contact the Foundation Office for any information regarding legacies and The 1675 Society: foundation@reigategrammar.org

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