Give the Gift of a Dream

Leaving a Gift in your Will is a wonderful way to support our cause and is an incredible gesture that impacts so many young lives. By leaving a gift to Dreams Come True you are enabling children and young people with serious or life-limiting conditions from disadvantaged backgrounds to feel the long-term impact of having a dream fulfilled. 

A gift of any size is always very much appreciated and will be used with full accountability in line with your wishes.

Making a will is very straightforward. It is a legally binding document and must comply with legal formalities. For peace of mind, we recommend that you ask a professional solicitor to help you write your will to make sure that it is legally binding and reflects your intentions.

There are two principal ways to donate to Dreams Come True in your will:

• A residual gift: Is a share of what remains in your estate after the legacies, debts and administration expenses have been paid. 
• A pecuniary gift: Is a specific sum of money from your estate.

If I want to leave a Gift in my will, what information do I need to include?

When leaving a gift in your will, you will need to include our name, address and registered charity number:

Dreams Come True Charity

Exchange House

33 Station Road

Liphook

Hampshire GU30 7DW

Registered as a charity in England and Wales (800248), Scotland (SC043878)

Finding a Solicitor

If you don’t have your own solicitor, you can contact the Law Society directly who can provide you with a list of local solicitors. If you live in England and Wales, go to lawsociety.org.uk, or call 020 7242 1222.

Or if you live in Scotland, contact the Law Society of Scotland at lawscot.org.uk, or call 0131 226 7411.

For Northern Ireland, contact the Law Society of Northern Ireland at lawsoc-ni.org, or call 028 9023 1614.

Adding a Gift to your Will

If you already have a will and wish to add a gift to Dreams Come True, you can do this by adding a form called a Codicil to your existing will. This is particularly useful for a pecuniary gift.

Your solicitor will do this for you. It is important not to make changes yourself as this could render your will invalid. The original of your Codicil must be kept with your will. We recommend that you seek legal advice when you make a Codicil so that your intentions are clear and can be carried out according to your wishes.

Will my Gift be subject to Inheritance Tax?

The good news is that as we are a charity, every gift is exempt from Inheritance Tax.  The threshold at which inheritance tax kicks in does change, so please visit https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax to keep up to date. If your estate is going to attract inheritance tax, any gift you leave to us will be deducted from your estate before any tax liability is calculated.

From 6th April 2012, if you leave 10% or more of your estate to a charity, you’ll be taxed at the lower rate of 36% (rather than 40%) on any part of your estate that qualifies for inheritance tax. This will reduce the inheritance tax due on your estate.

How is my Gift Used?

Every single gift we receive is vital to the work we do. Our goal is to fulfil the dreams of as many children and young people with serious or life-limiting conditions from disadvantaged backgrounds in the UK as possible, and your gift will go towards making this happen.

We understand that you may want us to use your gift for a specific purpose and this will commit us to use your gift exactly as stated. This can occasionally present a challenge if, for example, we don’t have the specific type of dreams that you want to support. To avoid this, we recommend you express your intentions broadly. For example, ‘equipment’ rather than wheelchairs or a ‘region’ as opposed to a town.

You could also create a non-binding wish by using the text, ‘It is my wish but without creating any legally binding obligation that…” This means that in the event that we aren’t able to do as exactly as you requested, we can comply with your wishes as closely as possible.

Thank you for considering leaving a gift to Dreams Come True in your will. Your gift will have a hugely positive impact on the lives of many children and young people with serious and life-limiting conditions, for years to come.