Leaving a gift in your Will to the Kennedy Memorial Trust is a lasting and effective way to support us.
We recognise that making a Will is an intensely personal and private matter, and naturally your first consideration will be to make proper provision for your family’s future in the most tax-efficient way possible. Once you are sure that they are well provided for, you may like to make a special bequest to a charity and, if this is the case, we would like you to consider making a bequest to the Kennedy Memorial Trust.
Types of Legacies
The five standard types of legacy are described below. Your solicitor or financial advisor will be able to advise you on how best to make or alter your Will to include a legacy to the Kennedy Memorial Trust.
Your gift may take the form of money, property, works of art or other assets and is exempt from Inheritance Tax, currently at 40%. Depending on the value of your gift, it could significantly reduce the tax liability of your estate.
Residuary Legacy – a percentage of the residue of your estate, after the deduction of specific and pecuniary gifts, debts, taxes and costs.
Pecuniary Legacy – a specific sum of money.
Specific Bequest – a gift such as property, stocks or shares.
Conditional Legacy – this addresses the possibility that if none of your named dependants survive you, your estate (or part of it) will be left to the Kennedy Memorial Trust.
Reversionary Legacy – a gift that passes to the Kennedy Memorial Trust only after the death of a spouse or relative.
Professional legal advice is always recommended when you are drawing up or changing your Will.
Pledging Your Support
If you decide to include the Kennedy Memorial Trust in your Will, it is entirely up to you whether you choose to let us have any details.
Some donors may have very good reasons for not informing the Trust of their bequest. When there is no objection, however, sending us a Pledge Form gives us the opportunity to express our gratitude during your lifetime. You can download a copy of a Pledge Form here.
Your legacy, however great or small, will always be highly valued.
If you have any questions, please contact the Trust by email at info@kennedytrust.org.uk, by phone on 020 7222 1151, or write to us at Kennedy Memorial Trust, 3 Birdcage Walk, London SW1H 9JJ.
Kennedy Memorial Trust is a registered charity No: 234715
Formulations for a bequest
• UK formulations
• USA formulations
UK formulation
We would suggest that a bequest to benefit the Kennedy Memorial Trust should include the following wording:
Pecuniary bequest
“I give to the Kennedy Memorial Trust, 3 Birdcage Walk, London SW1H 9JH the sum of £….. for the general purposes of the Trust and declare that the receipt of the Trust Secretary or other authorised officer for the time being of the said Trust shall be sufficient discharge to my Executors.”
Residuary bequest
“I give the whole (or ….%) to the Kennedy Memorial Trust, 3 Birdcage Walk, London SW1H 9JH for the general purposes of the Trust and declare that the receipt of the Trust Secretary or other authorised officer for the time being of the said Trust shall be sufficient discharge to my Executors.”
If you have already made a Will and wish to add a bequest to the Kennedy Memorial Trust, this can be achieved by adding a Codicil to your existing Will. You should sign the Codicil before two adult witnesses (who are not beneficiaries of the Will) who will also sign. The Codicil should be kept with your Will but not attached with pins or staples, as this would invalidate it.
Codicil
A Codicil form can be downloaded by clicking here.
USA Formulations
We would suggest that a bequest to benefit the Kennedy Memorial Trust should include the following wording:
Residuary bequest
“All (or……%) of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate which I may own or be entitled to at the time of my death, I give, devise and bequeath to the British Schools and Universities Foundation, Inc., a charitable organisation under section 501(c)(3) of the US Internal Revenue Service code and incorporated at 575 Madison Avenue, Suite 1006, New York 10022-2511. Further, I express a preference that the Foundation consider granting aid to the Kennedy Memorial Trust, 3 Birdcage Walk, Westminster, London SW1H 9JH for the support and advancement of the Kennedy Scholarships.”
Outright bequest
“I give and bequeath the sum of $….. to the British Schools and Universities Foundation, Inc., a charitable organisation under section 501(c)(3) of the US Internal Revenue Service code and incorporated at 575 Madison Avenue, Suite 1006, New York 10022-2511. Further, I express a preference that the Foundation consider granting aid to the Kennedy Memorial Trust, 3 Birdcage Walk, Westminster, London SW1H 9JH for the support and advancement of the Kennedy Scholarships.”
Other forms of bequest
A contingent bequest stipulates that the Kennedy Memorial Trust will receive a portion of the estate if one or more of the beneficiaries fail to survive you.
A Testamentary Trust is established at the time of death and uses all or a portion of the estate to care for one or more of the beneficiaries. Upon the death of the surviving beneficiaries, the principal passes to the Kennedy Memorial Trust.