A Gift that Keeps Giving

For many of us, our Will is the final message we send to our families, friends and wider community about who we are and how we want to be remembered. After taking care of loved ones, consider leaving a gift to charity in your Will. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, now more than ever charities rely on income from legacies. In fact, many charities would not survive without such donations and a gift in your Will costs you nothing and ensures the good work of your chosen charity lives on.

Where to start

The pandemic has helped many of us to realise the importance of charities to our lives and the willingness of so many to help in a crisis. • First decide to whom you’d like to leave a legacy.

It can be a cause close to your heart, such as a local hospice, youth organisation or branch of an animal welfare charity, or one of the national/ international organisations such as Save The

Children, UNICEF or Cancer Research UK. • You do not need to write a new Will to include a gift to a charity. A codicil allows for you to make minor alterations to your Will without the need to rewrite the original document. However, if you have more than one or two minor changes, it’s generally recommended that you write a new Will.

A codicil follows a certain format and has the same strict execution requirements as a Will – it will need to be witnessed and signed in the same way as a Will.

It pays to remember a charity

Legacies can reduce the amount of inheritance tax that will need to be paid on an estate. For example, those giving away 10 per cent of their net estate can benefit from a discounted inheritance tax rate of 36 per cent (from 40 per cent) across the remainder of their estate. • Another option could be to consider creating a charitable trust, which would ensure your money is dispensed over an extended period of time.

The trust will be registered with the Charity

Commission, and the trustees will distribute income and also capital to charities following your directions, by way of a ‘letter of wishes’. There will be fees involved in setting up a trust. Contact a law firm/solicitor that specialises in this area for more information.

How your gift is used

Your gift could help your chosen charity in many ways, but if there is a specific way you would like it to be used it is best to talk to them about it first, as it might not always be possible for the charity to use it in the way you wish. • You are under no obligation to tell your chosen charity you are leaving them a legacy – in fact, many people prefer not to say anything.

For more information, visit the Charities Aid Foundation (www.cafonline.org) and Remember a Charity (www.rememberacharity.org.uk).

The no-fault divorce and the impact victims of domestic abuse

The biggest change to divorce laws in the past 15 years took place in April 2022 allowing married and civil partnership couples to obtain a divorce without having to ‘blame’ the other. Among the hopes for the new law were the benefits it would bring for victims of domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse and divorce

Previously, in order to divorce you had to wait for a period of two or five years before a divorce could be granted. The only other option was to rely on grounds of unreasonable behaviour or adultery, fault-based facts which often led to increased hostility between the parties and risk of further abuse, especially when couples continued to live together. This protracted divorce process gave perpetrators additional time and avenues to continue to control their partner. Research has highlighted that the fault-based system created barriers to divorce that trapped victims of domestic abuse in unsafe and unhappy marriages, and caused them to stay for longer than they would have if there been an alternative way to divorce.

Unnecessary trauma

When using the ground of unreasonable behaviour in a fault-based petition, petitioners had to give the reasons for the breakdown of the marriage. Victims of domestic abuse would have to choose whether or not to state the abuse as a ‘reason’ for divorce knowing that voicing this could risk their safety. If they did decide to use abuse as their grounds for divorce, perpetrators previously had the opportunity to contest and defend the divorce, resulting in the victim having to attend court to face their abuser and share their personal experiences, placing immense and unnecessary pressure on them. To avoid the trauma of court, a significant amount of domestic abuse victims would accept facts about themselves that were untrue, to speed the divorce up and escape their abuser at the earliest opportunity.

Removing the outdated divorce law

It is hoped that the introduction of no-fault divorce in April 2022 would benefit victims of domestic abuse by removing the legal requirement to evidence their justification for divorce against outdated and arbitrary criteria, as well as removing the right for respondents to contest a divorce. No-fault divorce has brought a welcome end to the ‘blame game’ lowering the overall impact of divorce by enabling victims of domestic abuse to seek a divorce simply because they believe that their marriage has broken down, without the need for lengthy separation periods, airing painful details, and without the fear that their divorce may be contested.

Family Law Advice

If you are in an unhappy or abusive relationship and would like advice on your legal situation, our experienced team of family solicitors at Leeds Day LLP can help. Contact the team by sending an email to: family@leedsday.co.uk, telephone: 01480 474661 or for more information generally, visit our website: www.leedsday.co.uk/family.

Huntingdon Godwin House, George Street, Huntingdon, PE29 3BD T: 01480 454301 St. Ives 11 Station Road, St. Ives, Cambridgeshire PE27 5BH T: 01480 464600 St. Neots Xenus House, Sandpiper Court, Eaton Socon, St. Neots PE19 8EP T: 01480 474661