Solicitors and Executors
If you are dealing with a Will that includes a charitable gift to Dogs Trust, read our helpful guidance.
We are truly thankful for the kindness of our supporters who remember Dogs Trust in their Will. We are committed to honouring their wishes and ensuring that their gift is used as intended.
If you are dealing with a Will that includes a gift to our charity, we hope the information provided on this page is helpful. We recognise that being an executor can be challenging. Whilst we are unable to provide legal advice, we will be happy to offer guidance and answer any questions. Please do contact our experienced legacy team or call our customer support centre on 020 7837 0006.
For further support, particularly if you are not a professional executor and feel uncertain about the process, we suggest visiting the following external resources:
- Government website – When Someone Dies
- Citizens Advice – Death and Wills
- Institute of Legacy Management – Guidance for Executors
Consulting a legal advisor, where a professional has not been appointed can also offer peace of mind regarding your responsibilities during the administration.
It is important for charity beneficiaries to be notified as soon as possible. This will enable family members to amend our charity’s records and ensure that future mailings are not sent out to the deceased. If you have any queries, please contact legacyinfo@dogstrust.org.uk
If you need further help with:
- Administering a Will
- Paying in a legacy gift
- General executor duties
Please email our Legacy team or get in touch with our customer support centre on 020 7837 0006.
Our charity contact details
Dogs Trust House,
2 Wakley Street,
London,
EC1V 7LT.
Registered Charity Numbers: 1167663 and SC053144 & Company No. 09365971.
Pay in a legacy gift
All gifts in Wills are looked after by our Legacy Team within the Legal Department at our London office.
They are authorised to provide valid receipts and discharges. Legacies intended to benefit our rehoming centres, should still be forwarded to the London office.
The legacy team will, of course, make sure that funds are applied for the location or purpose specified in the Will. If you have already been in touch with us, we can provide you with a reference number for future payments.
Once you are ready to distribute the estate, you can send us a cheque or make a bank transfer.
Payment by cheque
If you are paying by cheque, please make the cheque payable to ‘Dogs Trust’ and send to:
Dogs Trust - Legal Department
Dogs Trust House,
2 Wakley Street,
London,
EC1V 7LT.
Electronic payment
We are happy to receive payment by BACS. If there are bank charges associated with making the transfer, our preference would be to receive a cheque.
Our bank details are as follows:
Barclays Bank PLC, 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP
Sort Code: 20 00 00
Account number: 00071064
Account name: Dogs Trust Inc
When making a payment, please make sure you reference the first and last name of the deceased or the reference number provided by the legacy team. If the reference is not included, we will be unable to receipt payment.
To help us identify your payment and ensure it is correctly recorded we will be grateful, if you can inform us by letter or email and include the following:
- Your details / Executor’s name and contact details
- The full name, title and last known address of the deceased
- Description of the gift
Please contact our legacy team, so that we can assist with the next steps for receiving the gift. Depending on the type of legacy expected, we are legally required to make enquiries and request specific information.
Types of legacy gifts and information to send us
The three main types of gifts in Wills are pecuniary, specific gifts and residuary gifts.
A pecuniary legacy is when somebody leaves a specified sum of money in their will. For this type of gift, please:
- Inform us with a note of your details, deceased’s details, and a description of the gift
- A copy of the Clause in the Will containing the bequest or written confirmation of the wording
A specific legacy constitutes a gift of a particular item, such as property, antiques, collectables and shares. Initially please provide:
- A note of your details and deceased’s details
- A copy of the Clause in the Will containing the bequest
- A brief description and relevant information concerning the item gifted
A residuary legacy involves leaving a percentage of an estate after settling other legacies, and once all debts and payments have been deducted. For this type of legacy, please send us:
- A copy of the Will and any Codicils
- A breakdown of assets and liabilities
- Valuations of significant assets
- At the end of the administration – a copy of the estate accounts and tax deduction certificate (Form R185)
On receipt of the information, our legacy team will be able to provide guidance with any further requirements. Where the estate is particularly complicated, we can offer support and assistance with any issues that may arise.
Administering a gift
While, in general, we favour receiving the proceeds from the sale of property or shares gifted to Dogs Trust in a Will, it's important to note that each case is unique. Therefore, prior to initiating any steps to transfer or sell the property or shares, we kindly ask that you reach out to us for further guidance.
Paying tax
Charities, such as Dogs Trust, are exempt from inheritance tax. Gifts made to Dogs Trust are typically paid from the estate without any tax deductions and before tax is calculated.
Charities are also not subject to capital gains tax. To ensure the exemption, executors use the appropriation process to sell assets such as property or shares on behalf of the charity. This allows the sale to proceed without the requirement to pay capital gains tax.
Additionally, we can reclaim income tax deducted at the source from the estate's income.
Each case differs and timing is important. Understanding these rules can be complex, and to prevent the estate from incurring unnecessary taxes, we recommend seeking advice. For more information, please review the guidance at gov.uk.
Gifts of personal items, contents and collection of items
Where the contents of a property and specific items are gifted to us and they have modest value, we kindly request that the Executors take them to one of our local charity shops. If a Dogs Trust charity shop is not located nearby, we are happy for the items to be donated to any charity shop in the area.
It is not our usual practice to collect items routinely, we may consider exceptions under special circumstances. For valuables or unique items, such as stamp collections and artwork, where we can, we will rely on the expertise of professional auctioneers or retail specialists for their assessment and sale. In such instances, we will make tailored arrangements for handling these items.
If you liked this page, tell the world!
