Legacies are very important to the Mission to Seafarers, as they allow us to continue our vital work, supporting seafarers in the UK and around the world.
Our Secretary General Andrew Wright has reflected on the importance of legacies to the continued work of The Mission in a recent article that you can read by clicking here.
Why everyone needs a Will
Your Will tells everyone what should happen to your money, property and possessions after you die, so it’s important that you have one.
The process of drafting a Will allows you to examine your assets – including stocks and life insurance – and ensures that the people and charities important to you will be protected after your death.
A Will is a flexible document that can be changed at any point during your lifetime. However, if you die without a Will, your family will have little say in what happens to your money, property and possessions. Instead, the government will divide up your estate based on legal standards.
Without a Will, it may be impossible for your loved ones and the government to know what assets you have, and your personal wishes cannot be followed.
If you haven’t yet had a Will drafted, we would recommend you work with a qualified professional. Any solicitor who is a member of The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) or a Will writer from the Institute of Professional Will writers (IPW) would be the most suitable.
Why you need a solicitor
It’s important that your Will meets legal standards, to ensure that it’s valid and enforceable after your death. For this reason, having your Will drafted or reviewed by a solicitor is vital.
For help in finding a qualified solicitor, contact:
- Your local Citizens Advice
- The Law Society – or if you live in Scotland, visit Law Society Scotland
Remembering the Mission in your Will
By remembering the Mission in your Will, you may also save on inheritance tax. Any gifts to charities are 100% tax free and are deducted when tax is calculated. Ask your solicitor for more information.
There are three ways you can make a gift to us in your Will:
Residuary legacy (a share of your estate)
A residuary legacy is giving as a gift the remainder of your estate (or a percentage of the remainder) after:
- other gifts to family and friends have been distributed
- all outgoings have been dealt with
A residuary legacy is generally of greatest benefit to us, as its value increases in line with inflation.
Specific legacy (a specific item)
A specific legacy refers to a particular item that you have left in your Will.
Examples include:
- Real estate or other property
- Stocks and shares
- Life insurance policies
- A stamp collection
Please bear in mind that gifts such as these can need selling management.
Pecuniary legacy (a specific sum)
A pecuniary legacy is a fixed sum of money left in your Will. It is worth noting that pecuniary legacies tend to decrease in value over time due to inflation, and need to be reviewed in order to maintain their original intended value.
For example, a legacy of £1,000 written into a Will in 1987 would now be worth less than £380.
It is possible to index link a pecuniary legacy, to ensure that the legacy maintains its intended value. If you have already made a Will, why not check it to make sure it’s up to date?
During the process of changing your will, it is likely that you will encounter other legal terms that you are unfamiliar with. To help alleviate this issue, we have put together a handy legacy glossary.
Help us change lives
- £5,000 would fuel a transportation service from ship to centre for one year
- £10,000 would fund trauma and stress counselling training for five chaplains
- £20,000 would fund exploration and the first year’s funding for an MtS Family Project in a developing country
- £25,000 would fund the purchase of a minibus for port transport
- £50,000 would fund a mobile chaplaincy, covering at least four ports
- £80,000 would purchase and kit out a relocatable Seafarers Centre in Europe
Facts and figures
- In 2019, the Mission team reported the following:
- 75,220 ship visits, encountering 376,000 seafarers on board their vessels.
- 435,000 visits to our 1-211 centres
- 400,000 seafarers used our vans
- 2,616 justice and welfare cases
Adding a codicil to your existing Will
If you already have a Will and would now like to leave a gift to the Mission, the easiest way to do this is by adding a codicil to your existing Will.
This allows you to make small changes to your Will instead of completely re-writing it. It will still need to be signed and witnessed in the presence of a solicitor.
A template codicil form is available by clicking here.
Our legal name and address
It’s important to correctly identify us by our legal name and address in your Will. Our legal name and address is:
The Mission to Seafarers,
1st Floor, 6 Bath Place,
Rivington Street,
London,
EC2A 3JE
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7248 5202
Registered charity: 1123613
Scottish charity no: SC041938
The next step
Letting us know that you’ve contacted your solicitor and included the Mission in your Will allows us to plan for the future. This information is confidential and in no way binding.
If you would like a legacy brochure or more information about leaving a gift in your Will to the Mission, please fill in our form below:
or write to:
The Mission to Seafarers FREEPOST KE5265,
Legacy Team,
1st Floor, 6 Bath Place,
Rivington Street,
London,
EC2A 3JE
Disclaimer
While the information and opinions expressed in this publication are compiled with the greatest of care, they are not intended to be accepted as legal or financial advice. The thoughts expressed are solely the personal guidance of the authors.
Step by step guide
Legacy glossary
Your lasting gift
Our supporters have helped us carry out our vital work since it began in the 19th century. Gifts in Wills make up more than a third of the Mission’s income, and play a significant part in funding our work with seafarers at home and around the world.
Supporting us with a gift in your Will today can help us continue to support seafarers wherever they are, and whatever danger they may face.
Why your gift is so important
Seafarers depend upon the Mission night and day, 365 days a year. Their lives are frequently filled with danger, loneliness and, at times, despair. Their families are often oceans away on the other side of the world and email is still only available to less than 25 per cent of seafarers on board ships.
This means that our Seafarers Centres are a vital resource, where crews can find a safe way to contact home.
Seafaring remains one of the world’s most dangerous occupations. People who work at sea are often ill or injured. They spend months on board a ship, away from their loved ones, and companionship can be hard to find.
Our work gives the 1.5 million seafarers around the world the practical, emotional and spiritual support needed for them to support the economy and get through their time at sea.
We need your generous support to allow us to continue our work, a gift in your Will is the perfect way to do this.
Find out more
If you would like to speak to someone about leaving a gift in your Will, please contact us on 02072462939 or email [email protected]
