Legal Professionals Hub

There are a number of ways your clients can leave a gift to Cancer Research UK:

1. Residuary Gift - this is a share of your client's estate. It's the most beneficial type of gift because it's a percentage of their estate, rather than a fixed amount. This means it retains its value and won't be affected by inflation. Additionally, it may reduce their Inheritance Tax Liability. (Last year 20% of all pledges received were residuary gifts but accounted for 87% of the funds we received).
2. Pecuniary Gift - This is a specific amount of money given in a Will, otherwise known as a 'cash gift'. (Did you know that pecuniary gifts are taken from the estate first, meaning other beneficiaries could be negatively impacted as a result?).
3. Index-linked Pecuniary Gift - This is a specific sum of money linked to the retail prices index (RPI). This means any amount pledged would keep its value in line with any possible inflation increases.
4. Specific Gift - This is something like jewellery, stocks and shares, property or other assets.
5. Life Interest Trust - When your client wants a charity to be their ultimate beneficiary, but they also want to ensure adequate provisions for their loved ones who survive them, one option is to include a life interest trust in their Will. Or, in some limited circumstances, to settle a life interest trust during their lifetime. A life interest trust effectively gives their spouse or other beneficiaries the enjoyment of the estate (or part of their estate) for their lifetime, while preserving the capital of the estate for their ultimate charitable beneficiary.

Cancer Research UK will cover the cost of a simple Will, mirror Will, single Codicil or mirror Codicil, at the below-outlined reimbursement, as this helps to drive income from gifts in Wills by removing the need for supporters to pay for their Will:

• £120 + VAT for a single Will

• £170 + VAT for a mirror Will

• £60 + VAT for a single Codicil

• £90 + VAT for a mirror Codicil

Cancer Research UK does not pay for more complicated Wills as this would negatively impact the charity’s return on investment. Once the pledge is submitted via the online portal, all fields are completed and your invoice is uploaded, our back-office team will process this for you, normally taking around 10-working days. Once processed, remittance will be sent in the next available batch run of payments (around 10-working days post-processing but our payment terms remain 45-days).

Cancer Research UK may agree to reimburse Members’ reasonable travel costs , which are incurred due to a home or hospital visit. Members must email the Free Will Service Team at LegacyOperations@cancer.org.uk to seek consent prior to incurring such costs. The charity will only reimburse travel costs that it has consented to in advance.

Please visit cruk.org/LPterms to view the Legal Professionals terms and conditions, including information about fixed fees.

Clients leaving a gift in their Will may be able to reduce their inheritance tax liability. Gifts to charities are 100% tax-free and are taken out of the estate before tax is calculated. Since 2017, if a client leaves 10% or more of their net estate, after certain deductions, their inheritance tax rate will be reduced from 40% to 36%.

The Free Will Service is open to anyone over the age of 18. There is no obligation on users of the Service to leave a gift to Cancer Research UK, but we hope that they will so we can continue to fund our work. Users of the Free Will Service product must consent to allow solicitors providing Cancer Research UK with their full name, address, date of birth and whether or not they have included a gift to Cancer Research UK in their will. Solicitors may also share whether the Will is simple or complex and the features that define this e.g. inclusion of a trust or multiple beneficiaries. This will be used purely for product development purposes and no personal information will be shared regarding this to share information on any charitable gift they intend to leave to Cancer Research UK, with Cancer Research UK. Users of the service are limited to 3 free Will writing consultations under this scheme. This includes new Wills and changes to existing Wills.

We understand that clients may want their gifts to go towards research into a certain type of cancer or to provide support in their local area. We will endeavour to meet this wish as far as is reasonably possible but would recommend contacting LPMs@cancer.org.uk in the first instance to advise on appropriate wording. Cancer Research UK will contact clients to thank them if they've been kind enough to leave a gift in their Will to Cancer Research UK when using our Free Will Service.

We now have an online version of our pledge form which has offered firms a swift and reliable method of submitting their clients’ information to us. To access the online Free Will Service form, please visit the following link: cruk.org/fwsonlineform. Invoices can be attached via this page. Our payment terms are currently 45-days from receiving the invoice and pledge form. If there are ever any problems with the online form, please contact LPMs@cancer.org.uk.

We no longer require the client’s signature, but we do ask that the Client Care and Prompt Sheet are shared with clients taking up the scheme, as you will have to confirm that these terms and conditions have been shared with your client to submit and have your invoice reimbursed.

Once a free will has been executed, simply:

1. Head to the Legacy Professionals Hub. 
2. Click on “Submit my FWS pledge” (the pink box) and have the information from your client file at hand.
3. You will be prompted to input your company name and email address (please note, if someone else is doing this on your behalf, they will need to use your email address). (TIP: Your postcode will also bring up your firm details.)
4. Next, you will need to input the Client’s basic details, including their full name, date of birth and address. You will also be asked if this is a Mirror Will, and by clicking yes, an additional box will open to input the additional details.
5. On the following page is where details of the will type are entered and if any gift has been left to Cancer Research UK. Dependant on the type of gift left, a box will appear asking you to complete the relevant information. You will also be prompted to share how the instruction was taken. Please give as much detail as possible.
6. The next few screens ask how the client would like to hear from us and also where they found out about the Free Will Service. It is important you ask this question when speaking with your client. If they haven’t given consent to hear from us, then tick no to all points. However, engaging with our supporters is vital to the future of the charity. Our marketing for those leaving a gift in their will is tailored and clients will receive invites to exclusive lab tours and events.
7. The penultimate stage is to confirm the fee amount for this will. Select the correct will type from the drop-down and outline if the client contributed anything to their will. The complete your file reference number and upload the associated invoice for this pledge (Word or PDF documents are accepted). Invoices should be made out to Cancer Research UK and please include your reference number for the case somewhere on the invoice.
8. Finally, you must agree with the terms and conditions before hitting submit. You can also choose to add a mobile phone number on this page to receive an automated text as well as email confirming submission. Once the pledge is submitted, our back-office team will process this for you, normally taking around 10-working days. Once processed, remittance will be sent in the next available batch run of payments (around 10-working days post-processing but our payment terms remain 45-days).