Q. Can I leave a legacy to the ss Great Britain? I didn’t realise it was a charity.
A. The ss Great Britain Trust is a registered charity, number 262158, established in 1971 to preserve Brunel’s ss Great Britain in her Bristol dockyard and display her for the enjoyment and benefit of all in this and future generations. The Trust is entirely independent of government and receives no direct state grant or subsidy for its general work. The Trust depends on the generosity of people like yourself to protect and safeguard the ship so that future generations may also be able to visit.
Q. Can I make the ss Great Britain Trust one of my executors?
A. The Trust recommends that you are better advised to appoint your solicitor or bank as an alternative executor, aside from using family and friends. They will charge a fee, but will provide a highly professional service.
It is important to choose executors with considerable care since their job involves a great deal of work and responsibility. You should always approach anyone you are thinking of appointing as an executor to see if they will agree to take on the responsibility. If someone is appointed who is not willing to be an executor, they have a right to refuse.
Q. Do I really need a solicitor?
A. There is no need for a Will to be drawn up or witnessed by a solicitor. If you wish to make a Will yourself, you can do so. However, you should only consider doing this if the will is going to be straightforward.
It is generally advisable to use a solicitor or to have a solicitor check a Will you have drawn up in order to make sure it will have the effect you want. This is because it is easy to make mistakes and, if there are errors in the Will, this can cause problems after your death. Sorting out misunderstandings and disputes may result in considerable legal costs, which will reduce the amount of money for the beneficiaries of the estate.
Some useful tips in making a Will are:
• Become aware of the formal requirements needed to make a Will legally valid.
• Take account of all the money and property available.
• Take account of the possibility that a beneficiary may in fact die before the person making the Will.
• Changing the Will. If alterations are not signed and witnessed, they are invalid.
• Become aware of the effect a marriage, a registered civil partnership, divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership may have on a Will.
• Become aware of the rules which exist to enable dependants to claim from the estate if they believe they are not adequately provided for. These rules mean that the provisions in a Will could be overturned.
Q. Can you advise on appropriate wording to put into my Will to include a legacy to the ss Great Britain?
A. The Trust has produced appropriate wording, which you can download from a comprehensive guide produced by the Trust and take along to your solicitor. The Trust recommends that you use a qualified solicitor to amend an existing Will or to include a legacy in a new Will.
Q. Can I avoid inheritance tax with a legacy to the Trust?
A. Leaving a gift in your Will to a charity can benefit both your loved ones and the charity. With the recent changes in law benefiting more families by allowing the Inheritance Tax threshold to be transferred between spouses, the increase in the joint allowance (currently £300,000 each = £600,000 jointly, with anything over these thresholds liable to 40% tax) means that your family will not be left to pay the hefty tax bills that were formerly in place. At the same time, increasing property prices have resulted in more families incurring Inheritance Tax after the loss of a loved one.
Q. Who pays the Inheritance Tax?
A. The 'personal representative' (the person nominated to handle the affairs of the deceased person) arranges to pay any Inheritance Tax that is due.
You usually nominate the personal representative in your Will (you can nominate more than one), in which case they are known as the 'executor'. If you die without leaving a Will a court can nominate the personal representative, in which case they are known as the 'administrator'.
Q. What is the deadline for paying Inheritance Tax?
A. In most cases, Inheritance Tax must be paid within six months from the end of the month in which the death occurs, otherwise interest is charged on the amount owing.
Tax on some assets, including land and buildings, can be deferred and paid in instalments over 10 years.
Q. Why is making a Will so important?
A. There are lots of good financial reasons for making a Will:
• If you die without a Will, there are certain rules which dictate how the money, property or possessions should be allocated. This may not be the way that you would have wished your money and possessions to be distributed.
• If you are not married or in a civil partnership, your partner will not inherit automatically - you can make sure your partner is provided for.
• If you have children, you will need to make a Will so that arrangements for the children can be made if either one or both parents die.
• If your circumstances have changed, it is important that you make a Will to ensure that your money and possessions are distributed according to your wishes. For example, if you have separated and your ex-partner now lives with someone else, you may want to change your Will. If you are married or enter into a registered civil partnership, this will make any previous Will you have made invalid.
• It may be possible to reduce the amount of tax payable on the inheritance if advice is taken in advance and a Will is made.
Q. Where should I keep my Will?
A. Once a Will has been made, it should be kept in a safe place and other documents should not be attached to it. There are a number of places where you can keep your Will:
• At home.
• With a solicitor.
• At a bank.
• At the Principal Registry of the Family Division of the High Court, a District Registry or Probate Sub-Registry for safe keeping. If you wish to deposit a Will in this way you should visit the District Registry or Probate Sub-Registry or write to:
The Probate Department
The Principal Registry of the Family Division
First Avenue House
42-49 High Holborn
London WC1V 6NP
Tel: 020 7947 6000
In Northern Ireland, Wills can be deposited with:
Probate Office
Royal Courts of Justice
Chichester Street
Belfast BT1 3JF
Tel: 028 9023 5111
District Probate Office
The Court House
Bishop Street
Londonderry BT48 6PY
Tel: 028 7126 1832
Q. Can you tell me what the difference is between a pecuniary and a residuary legacy?
A. With a pecuniary legacy you can specify a particular amount of money that you would like to bequeath. A residuary legacy is when you decide to leave the remainder of your estate once family and friends have been taken care of. Many people choose this latter option, and split it as percentages to give to their favourite causes.
Q. Can the value of my legacy go down over time?
A. It is difficult to predict precisely how the value of your legacy will be affected ten, twenty or thirty years from now. However, the most effective way to protect your bequest against inflation is to leave a percentage of your estate to charity, rather than a specific sum whose value will decrease year on year if inflation rises.
Q. Can I leave my ss Great Britain Trust life membership to my grandchildren?
A. Your life membership is personal to you, and is sadly non-transferable. However, you can leave money in your Will for your grandchildren to buy their own life membership. In this way, you benefit the ss Great Britain Trust and your grandchildren. Please note however, that the gift of life membership is not deemed by the Inland Revenue to be excluded from liability for inheritance tax.
Q. Can I have my legacy marked in some way?
A. The Great Western Dockyard has been faithfully restored to how it would have looked when the ss Great Britain was built in 1843. In the past, the Trust agreed to have a small number of dedications made on the dockyard benches. However, the Trust took the line that in order to maintain the integrity of the original Victorian dockyard, it would cease adding plaques to benches or indeed putting them up on board the ship.
There are other alternatives to this, and we are always happy to discuss these with people who are thinking of leaving a legacy to the ship, or who have already done so.
One nice way of remembering someone is to ask to be included in the Trust’s Book of Memoriam. Here people are able to leave messages remembering loved ones, and these can be added as part of a lasting legacy that acknowledges your gift to the ship, or can be reflective, and added after a loved one has died, also acknowledging a gift, be it as part of a Will or as a separate gift ‘in-memoriam’.
Q. Can I be sure the ss Great Britain Trust really needs my legacy?
A. Currently it costs the Trust over £1 million each year to conserve and display the ship for the enjoyment of all. Each gift, small or large, makes a difference to the Trust’s work. Unless the benefactor specifies another purpose for their gift, legacies will usually be used to pay for on-going conservation of the ship’s delicate iron hull. It is thanks to the generosity of many supporters who remember the ship in their Will that we can be assured that our children and grandchildren will be able to visit Brunel’s ss Great Britain in years to come.
Q. Can I find out what the ss Great Britain Trust spends legacy income on?
A. On 29th January 2008, the ss Great Britain Endowment Trust was formally constituted, with an initial investment of £3.5million, granted to the Trust as part of the agreement with the commercial developer for the ‘Brunel Institute’, Linden Homes Western Ltd. It is envisaged that the interest accrued from the invested sum will contribute up to 15% of the £1 million annual cost of conserving the ship and keeping her on public display. Legacies can help the fund grow to the size required to pay for essential works.
On this site you can read about current and past projects, all of which benefit through supporters donations. If you have any questions on any areas of our work, please contact Gary Musson on 0117 926 0680 ext.212 or email legacy@ssgreatbritain.org
Q. Can I choose how much I want to leave and does it have to be for a lot of money?
A. Anyone can leave a legacy to the ss Great Britain Trust and we are extremely grateful for all gifts, large and small. Some people leave us specific proportion of their estate and others choose to leave us the residue of their estate once family and friends have been looked after.
Q. Can I talk to someone who can answer my queries leaving a legacy to the ss Great Britain Trust?
A. We are always more than happy to help you with any queries you may have. If you would like to talk to someone, please contact us on 0117 926 0680 ext.212 or email legacy@ssgreatbritain.org.
Alternatively, you can write to us at:
ss Great Britain Trust
Great Western Dockyard
Bristol
BS1 6TY.
If you prefer us to reply by telephone, please remember to include a daytime number where we can contact you.
Thank you.