Leave a Legacy
A Gift in Your Will
Give the gift of opera and leave a legacy of enjoyment for the next generation and for years to come.
Leaving a gift to English Touring Opera in your will won’t cost you anything today, but it will make a considerable difference to the lives of future generations and provide them with the enjoyment and education of opera.
As a registered charity, it is very tax efficient and simple to leave a bequest to English Touring Opera (Charity Number 279354) as part of your will: no inheritance tax is payable on the amount of your legacy. In certain situations this may be an effective way of reducing the tax liability of your estate whilst benefiting ETO.
Please consider a gift to ETO in your will today and give the legacy of opera for generations to come.
ETO is pleased to support the Legacy10 campaign, raising awareness of the recent changes in Inheritance Tax rules and encouraging people to support charitable causes in their will.
Further Information
For further information, please contact David Burgess 0207 8332555 / david.burgess@englishtouringopera.org.uk
How to leave a gift in your will
How to make a new will
Making a will is not complicated and it should cost around £100.
- First appoint a professional adviser – usually a solicitor.
- Then work out how much you have to leave, including the total sum of your property, money and possessions, less any outstanding mortgages or loans.
- Decide who you want to benefit from your will (family, friends, charities or good causes).
- Choose executors to ensure your wishes are carried out. These can be professional advisers, friends or family members, or one of each.
- Finally, keep your will safe and make sure your executors know where to find it. Give one copy to your solicitor.
How to update an existing will
You do not have to rewrite your will completely in order to add a gift to English Touring Opera . This can be achieved simply by adding a codicil to your existing will. A codicil does not necessarily change the terms of your will: it is a supplement, which changes or amends part of the will. If you wish to change your will substantially, we advise that you contact your solicitor and have the will rewritten to include all your changes in a new document.
Different ways of leaving a gift to ETO in your will
- A monetary or pecuniary bequest leaves to ETO a specified sum of money (which can be index-linked to prevent its value being eroded by inflation).
- A residuary bequest leaves to ETO 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 ETO on their death.
- A specific or non monetary bequest allows you to leave shares, property, stocks, pictures or furniture to ETO either on terms that they be retained or that they may be sold when advantageous to provide funds for ETO.
Further Information
For further information, please contact David Burgess 0207 833 2555 / david.burgess@englishtouringopera.org.uk
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Can I leave a gift to English Touring Opera? I didn’t know it was a charity.
A. English Touring Opera is a registered charity (number 279354). This means that any lifetime gifts to ETO are eligible for Gift Aid, and that a gift to ETO in your will is free from Inheritance Tax. In addition, a gift to ETO in your will may have tax benefits for your estate by reducing the amount liable to Inheritance Tax.
Q. Can the value of my legacy go down over time?
A. It is difficult to predict precisely how the value of your legacy will be affected 10, 20 or 30 years from now. However, the most effective way to protect your gift against inflation is to leave a percentage of your estate to charity, rather than a specific sum whose value will decrease year on year as inflation rises.
Q. Can I give a copy of my signed will to anyone for safekeeping?
A. You can keep a copy of your will with your solicitor or bank, as well as holding a copy yourself. It is also wise to tell your executors where they can find the original. From time to time you should review your will to make sure it still accurately reflects your wishes and takes account of recent events in your life, such as the birth of a grandchild.
Q. Can I choose what my legacy is spent on?
A. Yes, you can. Whilst we welcome legacies that can be used for general purposes, we are also very happy to accept gifts for particular use. That means you can choose what your money is spent on.
Q. Can I choose how much I want to leave and does it have to be for a lot of money?
A. Anyone can leave a gift to ETO in their will and we welcome all gifts – large and small. Some people leave us specific gifts of money and others choose to leave us the residue of their estate, which can be arranged so that surviving dependants are looked after first.
Further Information
For further information, please contact David Burgess 0207 833 2555 / david.burgess@englishtouringopera.org.uk