Leaving a gift to the WSRA in your will
Thank you for considering leaving a gift to The WSRA in your will. We hope the information on this webpage will help to answer any questions you might have about making this special gift. If you need any more information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
Why should I leave a gift in my will to the WSRA?
Gifts left to the WSRA are vital to help us keep the railway steaming into the future, preserving the heritage of the past for future generations to enjoy and learn from. A lot of the work needed to keep this lovely railway running cannot be funded from day to day revenues. For instance:
- Painting and varnishing a carriage costs around £5,000
- Restoring a 1950 Mark 1 carriage costs around £100,000
- Restoring a steam locomotive costs around £500,000
What type of gift can I leave WSRA in my will?
There are 3 main types of gift you can leave in your will:
- A residuary gift is a percentage of your estate once any specified gifts have been made to friends and family. Many supporters choose to leave this type of gift because it’s value will be dependent on the value of the estate at any given time rather than a set amount. This provides more flexibility when deciding how to ensure that your loved ones are well looked after first and foremost.
- A pecuniary gift is a specific amount of money. It’s worth bearing in mind that this type of gift may lose value over time, so consider specifying a gift linked to the Retail Price Index or Consumer Prices Index to maintain its real value.
- A specific gift is a gift of a specified item – such as a personal possession, land, buildings or stocks and shares.
What are the benefits of leaving a gift to WSRA?
For individuals, the current Inheritance Tax threshold is £325,000 and Inheritance Tax is paid at a rate of 40% of anything in excess of the available Tax threshold. If you give away your home to your children (including adopted, foster or stepchildren) or grandchildren, your threshold can increase to £450,000. No Inheritance Tax is payable between married couples and a surviving spouse can transfer any unused threshold to their estate.
There is no Inheritance Tax to pay on gifts to charities. A gift to charity can either be a specific gift, a pecuniary gift or a residuary gift.
A gift to charity will either:
- be taken off the value of your estate before Inheritance Tax is calculated; or
- reduce your Inheritance Tax rate to 36% if more than 10% of your estate is left to charity
Why a Will is important
- If you die without making a Will, the Rules of Intestacy determine what happens to your estate. This may not be what you want and unmarried partners, charities or step children would not benefit from your estate unless they are named in your Will. If you have no surviving relatives then your estate could even go to the Crown!
- You can name Executors that you trust to carry out the administration of your estate and to give effect to your wishes.
- If you have children that are under eighteen, you can use your Will to appoint Guardians to look after them.
- Making a Will gives you the chance of leaving a legacy to those causes you care about, something which is not always possible to do in your lifetime.
Want to know more?
If you are considering a Legacy for the WSRA and would like to talk with someone (confidentially) and find out more about the difference you could make, please email us or call 01823 433856
How WSRA safeguards your legacy
The Trustees have developed a Legacies Policy to guide them in administering your legacy and to give you the confidence that your contribution will be administered and spent responsibly and according to your wishes.
Smaller legacies are used to help with overheads and to ensure that the charity is viable and can continue operating. Larger legacies (over £5000) are used for charitable purposes on the West Somerset Railway and any legacies over £100,000 are immediatly placed in designated funds for specific heritage projects on the WSR.
