Will drafting—gifts to charities

Produced in partnership with Adam Carvalho of Myerson Solicitors LLP

Practice notes

Will drafting—gifts to charities

Produced in partnership with Adam Carvalho of Myerson Solicitors LLP

Practice notes

There are many reasons why a testator would wish to leave part of their estate to Charity. Some may be purely altruistic but it is not uncommon for a testator to use such a gift as a means of extracting Goodwill in their lifetime from their relatives.

Whatever the reason, testamentary gifts to charities have a number of tax advantages over non-charitable institutions. In particular, with their general exemption from Inheritance tax (see section 23 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984)) such gifts are often an effective tax-planning strategy. The exemption extended to EU charities but this is being removed from 6 April 2024 and the exemption will then only apply to UK based charities. These will be registered in the central Register of charities kept by the Charities Commission. Not all charities are necessarily exempt and it is necessary to check for HMRC's treatment of them in the Inheritance Tax Manual at IHTM11101. For further guidance on the inheritance tax treatment of charitable gifts, see Practice Notes: IHT exemptions and reliefs

Adam Carvalho

Legal Director, Myerson Solicitors LLP

Adam Carvalho is a Legal Director in the Contentious Trusts and Probate Team at Myerson who specialises in complex and high-value contentious trust and probate work.

Adam trained, qualified and worked as a senior associate and partner in a central London firm in the Tier 1 nationally for Contentious Trust and Probate work.

Adam has considerable experience of ultra-high value litigation, cross-jurisdictional matters and disputes in non-UK courts. Adam has litigated in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and advised in relation to complex matters in courts from Bermuda to New Zealand.

Adam is a full STEP Member and has frequently been involved in private wealth matters involving complicated succession planning and trustee applications.

Adam is known for his constructive, pragmatic advice, his down to earth approach, and his technical knowledge. Adam is a firm believer in focusing on the main issues and providing sound and accessible advice.

Jurisdiction(s):

United Kingdom

Key definition:

Charity definition

What does Charity mean?

A charity is an institution which is established for charitable purposes only and falls to be subject to the control of the High Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction with respect to charities (Charities Act 2011, s 1)

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