Donate by Leaving a Legacy in Your Will

Every gift in every will makes a difference. After remembering your family in your Will, you may be considering leaving a gift to a charity close to your heart.

At Hope Against Cancer, legacy donations are vital to us.

We are also a local charity, raising and spending every pound ensuring that Leicestershire remains a centre of excellence for cancer research. So by leaving a gift in your will, you can rest assured that you will be making a significant contribution to our world-class research and treatment projects.

When Hope Against Cancer was formed in 2003 the prognosis for all cancer sufferers was still quite poor and at times fatal.

Together with our partners in the fight against cancer we have contributed to wideranging research which has improved the way we prevent, diagnose, treat and deal with the after effects of cancer. The 10 year survival rate for cancer is now approaching 50% – double the figure of 30 years ago.

Our work has been part of this vital progress and has saved the lives of many people in Leicestershire and beyond. There are now more than two million people alive in the UK who are living with or have previously had cancer.

However, there remains a long way to go and it is imperative that we continue our progress in tackling cancer.

Cancer is still responsible for one in four of all deaths in the UK, but with the support of your legacy we will be able to save even more lives.

Take action

Download our Will template to let your solicitor know you would like to leave a gift to  us – and remember, it can be any amount of money or any percentage of your estate. Every gift in every will makes a difference.

We are partnering with Paradigm Wills, a local legal specialist firm who have kindly agreed to offer a 40% discount on all services when you quote 'HAC1020' and will give a 10% donation to Hope. You can look at the services they offer here: https://www.paradigm-wills.com/ 

Legal terms

See our glossary of terms below for more information.

Bequest/legacy A gift in your Will .

• Codicil: A “supplement” making a change or addition to your Will.
• Estate: Total sum of all your possessions.
• Executor: A person charged with ensuring that your wishes  expressed in your Will are carried out. Executors can also be beneficiaries.
• Beneficiary: A person, or charity, who benefits from a gift in your Will.
• Inheritance Tax: This is usually paid on an estate when somebody dies.  Most estates don’t have to pay Inheritance Tax because they are valued at less than the threshold (£325,000 in 2010-11)
• Pecuniary legacy: A gift of a sum of money – these are linked to some form  of financial instrument such as an annuity or life insurance policy or a Trust where part or all of the income/capital can be distributed to a non-profit.
• Residuary legacy: A gift of what is left of your estate (or part of) after all  debts, taxes, costs and other bequests have been paid. It can be a percentage or fraction or share of an estate – even 1% of your estate.
• Specific legacy: A gift of a particular item in your Will.
• Reversionary legacy: A gift in your Will that reverts to another beneficiary (such  as a charity) when the original beneficiary dies.
• Witness A: Witness to your signature on your Will. A witness cannot  be a beneficiary in many parts of the world.