Help with making your Will
Leaving a gift in your Will is straightforward, but we recommend that you get advice from a legal professional, to ensure that your wishes are clear and can be carried out once you’re gone. This could be from your family solicitor, or one of our trusted partners who can help you write or update your Will for free - you'll find full details below.
To make a Will, you will need to:
- Estimate the potential value of your estate. This is everything you own (such as property, stocks, shares, savings, personal items), minus any outstanding liabilities (debts, such as a mortgage or loans). In some cases inheritance tax may be payable.
- Think about what you would like to happen to your estate and what gifts you would like to make. In addition to providing for your family and friends, you may also choose to leave a gift in your Will to St John Ambulance, helping to save lives in the future.
- Think about how you’d like certain matters to be handled after your death, for example, your funeral or appointing legal guardians for your children.
- You may want to talk to your family about your Will, to explain your wishes and hear their thoughts. Ensuring that the people closest to you know about your Will can be very beneficial. In our experience, most families are proud of the gifts their loved ones leave to St John.
Types of gifts you can leave to charity in your Will:
- A residuary gift is a percentage or share of your residual estate (i.e. what is left after other specified gifts, costs, debts and tax have been paid). It keeps pace with inflation.
- A pecuniary gift is a fixed sum of money. You can choose to leave any amount, but inflation will reduce its value, so you may wish to review the gift from time to time.
- A specific gift is a particular item, such as property, jewellery, antiques or shares.
- A reversionary gift allows a beneficiary to use your assets during their lifetime (e.g. living in a house or receiving investment income), with all or part of the assets passing to your chosen charity on their death.
For lots more useful information about making your Will, you can request a copy of our free Gifts in Wills Guide.
Did you know that as a St John supporter, you can take advantage of our free Will services?
We work with two trusted partners to offer you a good basic Will for free, or the option to pay for a more detailed Will, if necessary. You can choose the best approach for you:
1. Face-to-face with a solicitor near you
Our partners at the National Free Wills Network will provide a list of your local participating solicitors to choose from, so you can arrange a face-to-face appointment at a time that suits you.
Request your free pack
2. Online, from the comfort of your home
The experts at MyIntent offer you a convenient way to write your Will online, with detailed guidance and professional legal advice included.
Get started
There’s no obligation to leave a gift in your Will to us when you use either service. But, after making sure loved ones are looked after, it would be wonderful if you chose to support us in this special way.
