Including Sherborne School Foundation in your Will

“A gift to Sherborne in your Will benefits the School and avoids Inheritance Tax; what further incentive does an Old Boy require!”

Graeme Gilchrist
(a, 1948-1953)

Inheritance Tax
A legacy or bequest to Sherborne School Foundation is free from Inheritance Tax by virtue of the fact that the Foundation is a registered charity. In practical terms, this means that any gift you make to the Foundation in your Will is deducted from the value of your estate before it is assessed for Inheritance Tax. Therefore, a gift to Sherborne School Foundation can help reduce your liability by bringing the value of your estate below the current allowable threshold.

It is strongly advised that professional legal advice be sought in deciding how best to arrange your affairs.

Different types of gift explained
 
There are five common forms of legacy. Click here to see the Correct form of wording for your Will

The Pecuniary Legacy
This involves the leaving of a specific amount of money. The disadvantage of this method is that inflation will erode its value over time and so can distort your original intention. In order to obviate this you could set aside a proportion of your Estate to your beneficiaries as follows:

The Residuary Legacy
The way to protect the real value of your gift is to make what is known as a Residuary Legacy - which may be a percentage or fraction of the residue of your Estate after any specific bequests have been made. We would ask you to consider bequeathing one or two percent of your Estate.

The Conditional Legacy
If you feel that you would quite like to leave all or part of your Estate to the Sherborne School Foundation, yet also feels that someone else has a stronger claim to the gift, then you can make a Conditional Legacy. This means that you leave your bequest to a particular person, but in the event that he or she should predecease you, then that bequest would go to the Foundation.

The Reversionary Legacy (A Life Interest)
The Sherborne School Foundation fully appreciates the concern all of us have for those we leave behind, and our wish to ensure that first and foremost proper provision is made for those close to us. In this case, what is known as a Reversionary Legacy can be used, whereby you leave money or your Estate (or a percentage thereof) to the Foundation after your death of your spouse or relative. This means that they enjoy your assets during their lifetime, but afterwards everything, or a designated portion, reverts to the Foundation.

Gifts in Kind
Your gift can take any form, and it is quite possible to leave gifts in the form of shares or items of property such as houses, pictures or other valuables. The Foundation could then sell the asset and utilise the proceeds as the Trustees see fit. This can be an attractive option where the asset has appreciated in value over the years and a high Capital Gains Tax liability exists.