Leaving a legacy

Making a legacy gift to the Guildhall School of Music & Drama

Legacies gifts to the Guildhall School can be made in a number of ways depending on your circumstances. There are two main types of legacies or bequests:

• Pecuniary bequest - This is a gift of a specific amount of money from your estate. With pecuniary bequests, it is worth bearing in mind that the costs of study and inflation increases year on year since the actual value of your gift may lessen accordingly over the course of time.

• Residuary bequest - This is a gift of money or assets left over (i.e. the residue or remainder) when other pecuniary bequests and expenses have been paid from the value of your estate.

Suitable wording for your will

If you are thinking of making a legacy donation to the Guildhall School we would be pleased to provide a suitable form of words which can be incorporated into your Will or added as a Codicil (appendix) to an existing Will. We strongly recommend, however, that you seek professional legal advice to guide you through this process.

Tax-effective giving for legacies

Any legacies or bequests left to the Guildhall School through the Guildhall School Trust are exempt from inheritance tax. Since the Guildhall School Trust is a registered charity (Charity No. 1082472) any legacies donated to the Trust will be deducted from your estate before any tax liability is calculated.

For example, you make a will leaving a bequest of £155,000 to the Guildhall School Trust to endow a full fees UK/EU postgraduate scholarship at the School. On your death your estate is valued at £500,000 and the current threshold for inheritance tax is £312,000 (2008/09 tax year). This means that £188,000 - the excess - of your estate is liable for inheritance tax at 40%. However, since you have left £155,000 to the Guildhall School Trust in your will, then only £33,000 (£188,000 minus £155,000) is liable for inheritance tax.

Further information

If you would like to discuss how your legacy donation can help support the Guildhall School and its students, please contact Duncan Barker, Head of Development, on 020 7382 2313.