Leave a gift in your Will to British Heart Foundation

Thank you for deciding to leave a gift in your Will to British Heart Foundation. To make sure we receive your gift, you’ll need to include our charity name in full. You can give your solicitor or Will writer the following details: 

• Charity name: British Heart Foundation  
• Charity address: Greater London House, 180 Hampstead Road, London, NW1 7AW 
• Charity number: 225971 (England & Wales) / SC039426 (Scotland) / 1295 (Isle of Man)

Once you’ve written us in your Will, please let us know about your gift by completing our form. We’d like to thank you and send you exclusive information showing the impact that your gift could have.

If you have any questions or need help with executing a Will, please email our friendly Legacies team at [email protected]. We’re here to support you. 

Assets 

Any property, money and belongings you own, and which have value - either financially or sentimentally. 

Beneficiary 

A person or organisation who is named in your Will as the recipient of a gift. 

Bequest 

A gift made in a Will. 

Chattels 

Any item of personal property that can be moved from place to place - including furniture, belongings or a car. 

Codicil 

A document that acts as a supplement or amendment to your existing Will. It must be executed (signed officially) in the same way as your Will. 

Conditional legacy 

A gift which only takes effect if a specific condition is met on your death. For example, ‘If my brother is married at the time of my death, my house should go to him. If he is unmarried, it should instead go to my sister.’ 

Estate 

All the assets you own. 

Executor 

A person or organisation named in your Will to be responsible for your estate (collecting your assets, paying any debts, tax and any other amounts due, and distributing the remainder of your estate in accordance with the terms of your Will) following your death. You can have up to four executors and they can be a solicitor, trust company, bank, charity or a friend or family member. 

Inheritance Tax (IHT) 

A tax set by the government which may be payable on death depending on the value of the estate and intended beneficiaries. For more information on inheritance tax, visit the HMRC website. 

Intestate 

To have died without having made a Will or without a valid Will. 

Legacy

A gift made in a Will. 

Legator

Someone who has left a legacy (a gift) in their Will. 

Liabilities 

Financial obligations (such as debts or tax bills) which may need to be settled by your estate after your death. 

Life Interest Trust 

A type of gift you can make in your Will, giving named beneficiaries the right to benefit from the gift during their lifetimes, either by allowing them use of an asset (e.g. occupation of a house) or by receiving the income from it (e.g. rent from a house, or income from an investment fund). Other beneficiaries, often charities, receive the asset after these beneficiaries have died. This is sometimes also called a 'reversionary legacy'. 

Mirror Will 

This is when two people make almost identical Wills. For example, leaving everything to each other should one partner die and if both die together, to another agreed beneficiary. 

Pecuniary legacy

A gift of a fixed sum of money. To prevent its 'real value' decreasing over time, the amount can be linked with inflation. 

Probate 

Probate is the legal process during which a Will is proven in a court and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased. It’s the first step in the legal process of administering the estate of the deceased, resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under a Will. This process results in a document called a Grant of Probate, which confirms the authority of the executor to administer the estate of someone who has died. 

Residue 

Everything that is left in the estate after all the liabilities, tax, costs and legacies have been paid. 

Residuary legacy

A share, or sometimes all, of an estate after all the other payments have been made. One of the advantages of a residuary legacy is that it doesn't lose value over time and if you leave a proportion to us, you can still ensure other beneficiaries are provided for first. 

Specific legacy 

A gift of a particular item, such as property, antiques, jewellery and shares.

Testator/testatrix 

The person, either man (testator), or woman (testatrix) who has made the Will. 

Trustee 

If your Will sets up a trust (for example a life interest trust), the trustees are the people or organisations named in your Will to manage this trust, according to its terms. They will usually make decisions for the benefit of the trust's beneficiaries, once the administration of the rest of your estate has been completed. Their role is similar to that of your estate's executors, and often, at least initially, they will be your executors. 

Will 

A legal document by which a person states what they want to happen with their estate following their death.