Secure a brighter future

Making a Will might seem an uncomfortable topic to think about, but it does give you the opportunity to make your last wishes known. Caring people like you improve the quality of life for visually impaired people and make a remarkable difference to both the number of people we can reach in the future and the amount of additional help we can provide. If you already have a Will, it is easy to add a gift.

We believe that making a Will and leaving a legacy to charity is a highly personal and private matter. So we do not ask to be told if you have decided to leave SeeAbility a gift, nor do we assist with the drawing up of Wills. If you do choose to tell us, it does of course mean that we are able to thank you for making such a wonderful gesture for the future and to keep you up to date with our work.

There are two ways you might consider leaving a gift to SeeAbility:

• You can specify a fixed sum of money
• You can choose to leave a part or the whole amount left over after having given gifts to family and friends. 

Inheritance Tax

As well as helping others in the future, a gift to SeeAbility could also help to reduce the amount of Inheritance Tax payable on your estate.

Since your estate includes the current market value of your home, plus money and possessions after the payment of expenses, you could be affected by Inheritance Tax (the rules for which can change with any Chancellor's budget) even if you do not think you are. Any gift made to a charity you care about is free of tax because legacies are deducted from your estate before Inheritance Tax is calculated. Your solicitor will be able to discuss with you the most appropriate way of dividing your estate.

What if you do not already have a Will?

We recommend you seek independent advice from a solicitor to ensure that your wishes are achieved. Making a Will is very straightforward. You will need to take to your solicitor a list of your major assets such as your house, bank and building society accounts, shares, and any valuable possessions; and need to decide who your executor/s will be. 

Technical Terms in plain English 

What if I already have a Will and want to change it?

It is easy to make changes to an existing Will so perhaps you would consider reviewing it and adding a gift to SeeAbility. You can amend an existing Will with a Codicil which is like an appendix and needs to be signed, witnessed and kept with the original copy of your Will. This saves you from having to revoke the whole Will and make a new one unless you are making a number of amendments. We recommend that you seek advice from your solicitor.

An example of a Codicil

By remembering SeeAbility in your Will, you will be making a huge difference.