Legacies and Memorial Funds

A significant percentage of Sail 4 Cancer's income comes from legacies (gifts made in people's will's) or from funds raised in remembrance of a loved one lost to cancer after their death.

Through carefully selected grants, Sail 4 Cancer assists the financial burden which many care institutions face throughout the UK / Australia by injecting funds for specialist treatment and palliative care. Sail 4 Cancer also funds its own unique programme of convalescence... sailing trips to help patients and their families to relax and get away from the reality of their everyday lives.

Legacies

After you have taken care of your loved ones in your will, you may wish to leave a gift to support Sail 4 Cancer. Legacies are a very special way of ensuring Sail 4 Cancer will be able to support local communities for many years to come. You can also decide whether to leave a legacy to support a particular cause or area, or leave it to the Sail 4 Cancer to allocate your gift according to the most pressing needs at the time.

There are four main types of legacy:

Pecuniary Legacy: a fixed sum of money, property or other specific gift, which is made explicit at the time of writing a will.

Residuary Legacy: the residue of the estate or a percentage of the residue which is everything remaining after all debts, expenses and legacies have been paid. Residuary legacies are more beneficial to charities than pecuniary legacies

Reversionary Legacy: Sail 4 Cancer will not inherit until after the death of another person, who has the benefit of the estate during their lifetime. This ensures that the needs of the testator's family are protected first and foremost.

Specific Legacy: a gift of goods which is made explicit at the time of writing a will, for example property or shares.

Inheritance Tax: How to make the most of your legacy
When a legacy is left to Sail 4 Cancer, the gift is totally tax free, regardless of the amount. Moreover, the value of the gift to Sail 4 Cancer is deducted from the total gross value of the estate. This may reduce the amount on which tax is payable reducing the amount of inheritance tax owed.

Double the tax benefit
As a charity, legacies left to Sail 4 Cancer are exempt from inheritance tax. If a specific amount of money is left to Sail 4 Cancer in a will (or made in accordance with the testator's wishes but not specified), the full amount is received by Sail 4 Cancer rather than the amount minus inheritance tax.

A testator may also leave a legacy to a friend or relative. The testator can specify that all or part of the gift to the beneficiary be given to Sail 4 Cancer. When the beneficiary acts upon this, Sail 4 Cancer benefits from tax exemption in two ways:

1. Sail 4 Cancer can claim inheritance tax in the same way as if the gift were left directly to the Sail 4 Cancer in the will.
2. The beneficiary can make the gift using Gift Aid, increasing the gift further, subject to his or her limit of taxable income. If a gift is left via a beneficiary who is a UK tax payer therefore, Sail 4 Cancer can re-claim the 40% inheritance tax and, if the payment is made under Gift Aid, up to a further 28%.

Should you have any questions about wills and legacies, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Click here to send us an email or phone +44 (0)845 408 1849.

Memorial Funds

In addition, a number of people have raised funds for Sail 4 Cancer in remembrance of loved ones who have died from cancer and who had a close affinity with marine sports.

Instead of buying flowers for the bereaved family, many people ask for funds to be directed to their chosen charity. In this way, families can make a very valuable contribution to the funding of our work. Recent examples include:

In remembrance of Sarah Jones £3,200
Sarah died from breast cancer in August 2003 when she was just 34 years of age. She leaves her husband Nigel and a daughter Orphelia (Aged 2). Most of Sarah's family are keen sailors and her brother is pit man onboard the Maxi Enigma. Charles Dunstone raised the 2003 Rolex Fastnet Trophy in Sarah's honour.

In remembrance of Niall Andrews £900
An ex Royal Marine, Niall died at the age of 34 from cancer or the oesophagus. Niall excelled in a number of sports ranging form weight lifting (RAF Middleweight Champion) to Triathlon (Iron man). Niall was also a keen windsurfer and sailor. He regularly sailed a Laser in the MOD champs in Portsmouth and a Hobie 16 with his wife Marina at Rockley Park, Poole.

The Hobie Centre in Poole have organised two races per year in memory of Niall with the aim of raising funds for Sail 4 Cancer. Each race operates on a sweepstake concept whereby the winning pot is split equally between Sail 4 Cancer and the winner. The winner will also be presented with the Niall Andrews Trophy, a scaled model of the exact type of boat Niall sailed. Thirty cats normally take part.