Leaving a legacy gift in your will
After a lifetime of faithful, charitable giving, for many leaving a charitable legacy is viewed as a final opportunity to make a lasting gift to God as an act of thanksgiving. As Christians, we are called to exercise good stewardship over all that God has entrusted to us. By making a Will we can ensure that our stewardship continues after we die.
A Will is a way to show a clear practical expression of our love and concern. It provides us with the opportunity to continue our support for the people and causes we love and value.
Most of us will want the members of our family to benefit from what we leave behind. You may also wish to leave something to the causes you care about and to the United Reformed Church.
Leaving a Gift to the URC
If you are considering leaving a gift in your will to the URC, then it is your choice how you would like it to be used. You might want to think about it in terms of how much you would like to leave, where you would like to go, and for what purpose.
The amount you’d like to give
A cash sum
You can leave a specific amount of money, where you state the amount you want to gift.
A percentage of your estate
You can leave a a percentage of your estate, or a percentage of the remainder of your estate once you have taken care of your loved ones.
A property
You can leave a property to the URC, either to be sold off or to be used for a specific purpose.
The area you’d like to support
Local URC
You can leave a gift to your local church or to the Synod. If so, then please contact the elders of your church or your Synod Treasurer.
The URC denomination
You can leave a gift to the URC denomination as a whole. The appropriate receiving body of a legacy for the work of the URC is the United Reformed Church Trust, which is a limited company registered in England and Wales (Registered Number 135934) and a registered charity (Registration 1133373).
A function of the URC
You can leave a gift to a specific function or mission of the URC’s work such as the Retired Ministers’ Housing Society, or a particular outreach programme.
The purpose of the gift
A specific purpose
You can leave a restricted cash gift, which means you would like the money to be used for the purpose you state.
An unrestricted gift
Leaving an unrestricted gift means you would like to give an amount to the URC for futhering its work.
A property
You can leave a property to the URC, either to be sold off or to be used specifically for use by retired church ministers.
Commitment for Life
The Commitment for Life team have created some resources to provide with more information about leaving a legacy.
- Gift in Wills leaflet (PDF | 1mb)
Writing a Will
Deciding to leave a gift in a Will is a big, but rewarding, decision and we would urge you to pray about it and talk to those close to you.
If you’ve decided to leave a legacy, then it is time to write your Will, or amend your existing one to reflect your wishes. The following may help you with the wording but we would strongly suggest you contact a solicitor to help you draw up your will.
- A place in your Will (PDF | 156kb)
Thank You!
Leaving a gift in your Will to the United Reformed Church is a clear practical expression of love and concern, it is an opportunity to make a lasting gift to God, thank you.