Legacy gifts provide a significant source of income for the College and are increasingly popular among Old Members once provisions for their loved ones are in place. They are a powerful and lasting way to support all that we do – your gift could help endow scholarships or bursaries for gifted students, help fund academic posts or provide new facilities and resources for the College.
Make a Will online
We’ve partnered with a wonderful organisation called Make A Will Online to offer all of our Old Members access to an online will writing service. Making your will online through the portal is easy and substantially discounted (£60 per will) and every will is checked by a fully qualified UK solicitor. Additionally, if you have any legal questions in the process of writing your will, you can get these answered too.
Protecting your wishes
When you use our will service with Make a Will Online, you’ll also be given access to Capacity Vault through the platform, free of charge.
The most common legal challenge to wills is lack of testamentary capacity which can complicate matters and lead to additional stress for your loved ones. Capacity Vault makes an encrypted digital snapshot of your mental capacity, allowing you to protect the wishes in your will should it be challenged.
Make a will face to face
If you already have a solicitor or if you would rather speak to a solicitor face to face, you should of course do so. Also, if you have a large estate above the inheritance tax threshold, or if you have a complex estate (e.g. trusts or foreign assets) you should also speak with a solicitor . You can find one here using the Law Society website. And finally, where there is any worry related to testamentary capacity we always suggest speaking with a solicitor face to face.
When you discuss your bequest to Univ with your solicitor, please ensure you use these details:
- Full name: University College in the University of Oxford
- Charity number: 1141259
- Registered address: University College, High Street, OXFORD, OX1 4BH
What impact will my Legacy make?
By remembering University College in your will, you will be supporting our mission to provide our talented and diverse study body with a superb environment for learning. Legacies help us to
- Maintain tutorial teaching in College
- Provide financial help to students who need it
- Offer high quality opportunities for non-academic activities such as sport, music, theatre
- Equip future leaders with the knowledge and skills they need to tackle global issues.
In recent years legacy donations have fuelled transformative initiatives including:
- The new development at Univ North
- Innovative pastoral and support services throughout the College to unlock each student’s full potential
- New scholarships and bursaries to assist and empower all of our students regardless of background
Without a doubt, leaving a legacy is a powerful and lasting way to support the College. Please consider including Univ in your will today. Your generosity will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come.
Why leave a gift in your will to University College?
- Unrestricted legacies support all aspects of College life. Whether our students go on to address inequalities of opportunity or become leaders in solving the greatest challenges facing our world, your legacy gift will have lasting and far-reaching benefits.
- Legacy gifts keep on giving, long into the future. By pledging a legacy gift you are enabling our College to plan ahead and become more financially sustainable.
- A legacy gift to University College is free of tax and may reduce the inheritance tax liabilities on your estate.
- If you would like to leave non-monetary gifts, for example shares, or items of property we would be grateful if you could discuss these with the College in advance.
William of Durham Club
We understand that the contents of your will are a private matter. However, should you wish to let us know of your intention to leave a gift to Univ, we would be delighted, as we would then be able to thank you for your kind support.
To show our appreciation, we invite those who have pledged a gift in their will to join our William of Durham Club. Members are invited each year to a luncheon with the Master in college, with a guest speaker and a concert, or performance from the Univ Players. It’s a popular event, often attended by current and Emeritus Fellows as well as Old Members and friends.
Please get in touch with our legacies team (legacies@univ.ox.ac.uk) to find out more about the William of Durham Club, for more information about Legacies to the College, or to let us know your plans.
Making your pledge
- After providing for your family and friends, it is possible to leave to Univ either a capital amount (pecuniary gift) or a share of the residue of your estate (residual gift). Whether £1,000 or £100,000, or from 1% of your estate to 100%, your legacy gift will make a significant difference. If leaving a residuary gift it is not necessary to take inflation into account when drawing up your will.
- Once you have included a legacy gift in your will please let the College know using the form/email below (see ‘Letting Us Know’). The Development Team will then be in touch to check that you have everything you need, and – if you wish – to discuss your legacy in more detail.
- We suggest using the following wording in your will:
- I bequeath to the Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University College in the University of Oxford (Registered Charity Number 1141259) [the residue of my estate ] / [ ______ % of the residue of my estate] / [the sum of £ ____________ ] free of tax for the general purposes of the College and I further direct that full receipt of the Bursar or other authorised officer of the College shall be a full and sufficient discharge to my Executors and Trustees.
- By making your gift unrestricted you will provide even maximum flexibility, enabling the College to adapt and thrive.
- Wording for US or Canadian Taxpayers is available in the USA Bequests Guide via the AFUCO website or via the link in the Planned Giving for USA residents below.
- All wills made through Make A Will Online are checked by a legal professional. However, if your estate is complex we recommend seeking professional legal advice when writing or amending your will.
Your Legacy and Tax
Legacies can benefit your estate as well as the College.
- A legacy gift to a charity such as University College is exempt from Inheritance and Capital Gains Tax in the UK. University College has charitable status under the Second Schedule to the Charities Act 1993.
- If you leave at least 10% of your taxable estate to charity, the Inheritance Tax rate for the rest of your estate may decrease from 40% to 36%. In effect you may be able to leave more to charity while reducing the impact on your loved ones’ inheritance. Please visit tax calculator to find out more.
You might also wish to look at Inheritance Tax Zero to find out how you can maximise the philanthropic impact of your will.
For further information on Inheritance Tax please visit here. We recommend that you seek professional financial advice if your estate is likely to be liable for Inheritance Tax.
Planned giving for USA residents
Old Members and friends of the College in the US who wish to leave a gift in their will may do so through the College directly, or through AFUCO, in consultation with their solicitors. Please see the AFUCO legacies bequest guide for further details. AFUCO is a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization under the Internal Revenue Code and can handle living and legacy donations from US residents on behalf of the College.
All those who remember the College in their wills are eligible to become lifetime members of the William of Durham Club. Membership includes invitations to our annual William of Durham Day, as described above, receipt of our publications and listing in the Roll of Donors, unless you’d prefer to remain anonymous.
Get in touch
We’re here to help. If you have any questions about your legacy gift to Univ our legacies team would be pleased to talk with you.
