Why support the Royal College of Physicians?
Thank you so much for thinking about including the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in your Will. Leaving a gift in your Will is the most important charitable donation that you will make. It is an expression of the values you have lived by and creates a legacy to carry on these values in your place. In creating your Will, naturally your first thought will be to take care of your family and friends. After doing so, you may wish to leave a portion of your remaining estate to the RCP.
The RCP has a long history of legacy giving, dating back to our first president, Thomas Linacre, who bequeathed his home to the college in 1524. Leaving the RCP a legacy will have a powerful and lasting impact on the charitable work that we do, and support physicians in the future to provide better healthcare for patients.
All legacy gifts, no matter what size, are immensely important to allow us to plan for and invest in the future. A gift in your Will has the power to shape the future of medicine, particularly by growing our endowment fund so that the impact of your donation lasts in perpetuity.
A gift in your Will can help us continue to educate, train and support future generations of physicians to strengthen health systems and improve medical standards across the globe.
How your legacy gift will help
The RCP is a registered charity, wholly independent from government, led by doctors for the benefit of all. Independence allows the RCP to act on health matters entirely based on evidence and to speak out about public health threats that affect us all. The RCP has a proud history of philanthropy and has become what it is today thanks to the generous support of benefactors.
The RCP has been at the forefront of patient care for over 500 years. Through advocacy, education and research, we drive improvements in the diagnosis of disease, the care of individual patients and the health of the whole population, both in the UK and across the globe.
By donating a gift in your Will, you can have a tangible impact on the successful delivery of the RCP’s strategic and charitable aims, providing us with the necessary support to advocate for public health, improve healthcare practices for both doctors and patients, and support the next generation of doctors.
All legacy gifts – whether large or small – are vital to allow us to plan for the future. You can create your legacy in an area that you feel passionate about supporting, such as the RCP’s educational and training work, and these funds might be applied to immediate priorities or invested in the longer term within the RCP’s endowment.
However, as the future can be unpredictable, the RCP is especially grateful to those who leave their legacy unrestricted. This gives the RCP the flexibility to ensure that we can continue to support physicians throughout their career well into the future.
Consider which type of gift you’d like to leave
Any size gift that you leave will make an important difference.
Your options include:
- A residuary gift: This means that once all other specified gifts and payments have been made, a percentage of your estate can be given to the RCP. This type of gift is popular because it takes care of loved ones first and remains proportional to the value of your estate by keeping pace with inflation.
- A pecuniary gift: This is a fixed sum of money that you specify in your Will. The value of a pecuniary gift could decrease over time, as inflation and the cost of living increase.
- A specific gift: You can choose to give a named item. This could be a particular item such as property, shares, artwork or a collection of medical instruments.
- A reversionary gift: This allows you to leave assets for the care of a loved one for the duration of their life. When they die, your gift reverts to your chosen recipient.
- A gift in the form of a trust or endowment: Setting up an endowment or trust is a meaningful way to structure your gift to the RCP. The gift in your Will can be invested in the RCP endowment fund to produce income to support the college’s charitable aims. If you are interested in giving in this way, please get in touch for more information and we can discuss your options.
Incorporate your intended gift into your Will
As a guideline, here is some suggested wording that your solicitor or Will writer can use for your new or redrafted Will.
I give, tax free, to The Royal College of Physicians of London, registered charity number 210508, of 11 St Andrews Place, London NW1 4LE (the Charity) [insert a fixed amount or insert a specified percentage / all of my residuary estate] for the general charitable purposes of the Charity to be applied at the discretion of its trustees.
If you would like to leave a legacy with a specific purpose or in the form of a trust or endowment, our team can also help by suggesting some wording – please get in touch to discuss this with us.
Our legacy pledger programme
We appreciate that leaving a legacy gift is a personal decision that you may prefer to keep private, but we would be delighted to thank you if you are happy to share your intentions with us.
Please be assured that the information you choose to share with us will be held in confidence and is in no way legally binding. Knowledge of forthcoming gifts helps us to plan for the future and enables us to keep you updated about our achievements. More importantly, by letting us know, we are able to acknowledge your contribution, thank you for your incredible generosity, and celebrate the legacy that you have pledged.
We would be honoured to have you join our group of legacy pledgers and would be delighted to invite you to our annual summer garden party for college supporters.
Frequently asked questions
If you die without a Will or if your Will is invalid, your estate is distributed under intestacy rules. These rules set out a strict order of who can inherit your estate, which may go against your family situation; no provision is made to unmarried partners, cohabitees or ‘stepchildren’ under these rules. In the case that an individual is not married and has no children or living blood relatives, the Crown will receive the estate of the intestate. Making a legally valid Will ensures you have control over who is to inherit. This should ideally be reviewed every few years to ensure your wishes suit your current situation.
As we don’t know exactly what our funding options and focus areas will look like in years to come, it’s always better to leave a gift in your Will with no restrictions so we can use it where the need is greatest when the time comes. However, if you are keen for your gift to be used in a specific area, please get in touch and we can discuss how to best shape the direction of your legacy and suggest wording for your Will.
Including the RCP in your estate plans without having to rewrite your Will is possible. Your solicitor is best placed to advise you on how to add a codicil to your Will without having to re-write it.
The RCP is an exempt charity under the Charities Act 2011. If you are a UK taxpayer, this means that your legacy gift to the RCP is exempt from inheritance tax and is deducted from the value of your estate before inheritance tax is calculated. Also, in certain circumstances, anyone leaving 10 per cent or more of their taxable estate to charity may qualify for a reduced rate of inheritance tax. That means your gift could reduce what your beneficiaries have to pay or, in some circumstances, remove your inheritance liability altogether. This means that you may be able to make a huge difference to the RCP’s invaluable work with less of an effect on the value of what you leave to your friends, your family and the other causes you support.
There are various considerations which could affect your level of inheritance tax. You should consult your solicitor or financial advisor about your own personal situation.
Please see www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax for more information.
There are also international tax benefits on legacies from overseas. Solicitors or tax advisers will be able to provide further guidance on this.
- You can search for regulated solicitors in your area via the Law Society website
- Advice on making a Will
- The basics of Will making
- The basics of inheritance tax
Get in touch
We understand that leaving a gift in your Will is something you will want to think about very carefully.
If you have any questions, we are here to help and answer any questions in confidence.
Please call Sally Williams (head of philanthropy) on 020 3075 1535 (direct line), email Sally.Williams@rcp.ac.uk or write to us at: Royal College of Physicians 11 St Andrews Place, Regent’s Park London NW1 4LE