Gifts in Wills

A Residuary Gift
This is a percentage of your estate after gifts have been given to your family and friends. This is often a popular choice as its value remains in line with your estate at any given time. Also, its flexibility ensures your family and friends are looked after, whilst giving to the charity of your choice.
 
A Pecuniary Gift
This is where you donate a specific, fixed amount to a gift to your charity of choice. But, it is important to consider inflation as the value can decrease over time.
 
Specific Gift
This option enables you to leave the charity of your choice a particular gift or item, this can be anything from a personal gift, land, building, or stocks.

Hourglass is partnering with a top-rated legal firm with over 35 years experience and 150 staff to offer a Free Wills scheme. Our legal partners cover all 4 nations and they will write your Will without any charge to you. If you felt that you would like to leave a gift in your Will to Hourglass, we would be very grateful.
 
In the UK, 54% of adults don’t have a Will in place and only 6% leave a gift to a charity. It’s hoped this scheme will ensure the wishes of the person who has passed away are adhered to as well as supporting charities with much needed financial support in the future.
 
Writing your Will couldn’t be easier. Simply email legacy@wearehourglass.org or call 0207 7890 274 so we can take some details and then you can book an appointment with one of our partnering solicitors either online, by phone or video call. When the Covid-19 pandemic is under control it will also be possible to have an in person meeting if that works better for you.

Hourglass is the only charity in the UK exclusively dedicated to ending the abuse of older people. It’s estimated that 2.7 million over 65 years of age experience abuse in the UK every year. We are here to help them.

A gift in your Will could help Hourglass plan for the future, to ensure we’re there for the UK’s ageing population.

It will help us to keep our Helpline open to answer calls from older people living with abuse and their loved ones.

It will also help us to deliver one-to-one and group support in communities across the UK to help raise awareness of the abuse of older people, provide training for people working with older people, and deliver advice, guidance, and support to those who really need it.

There are a few options when it comes to making your Will. There are online services or you can instruct a solicitor. You can click here for the Government's Guidance.

You can also download our handy list to help break down what normally goes in a Will and it’ll help you consider what you would like to gift to loved ones in the future. Download Our Will Planner

Also, you can update your Will at any time, so if you already have one, and you would like to include Hourglass, you can still do this.

Donald* called our Helpline for advice about his elderly father, Hamish*. He shared how he, other family members, and friends were being prevented from seeing his father. configuration options

Donald* called our Helpline for advice about his elderly father, Hamish*. He shared how he, other family members, and friends were being prevented from seeing his father.

Hamish has dementia, and has been in a care home for the past three years. Donald and most of his family were unable to see him during this period due to Hamish’s other son, Roger*, abusing his position as Power of Attorney. Roger instructed all care staff to prevent anyone visiting Hamish. All health and social care staff complied with these instructions, on the understanding that this was the appropriate legal position.

Hourglass Scotland intervened and provided comprehensive casework support to assist Donald in challenging the isolation of his father. Through our experience of both the social care and legal systems in Scotland, we provided Donald with practical assistance, and also provided much-needed emotional support. As a result, an application was made to the local sheriff for Donald’s legal Guardianship of his father. The sheriff immediately gave a direction that the ban on family and friends from visiting Hamish should be lifted, as the ban was not of benefit to Hamish and therefore inappropriate. Hamish is no longer kept isolated from his loving family, and can see who he wishes. *details changed per the victim’s request.

Making a Will is a relatively simple process, which will involve a solicitor walking you through the steps. You will normally need a list outlining the key things you own and who you would like these to be left to, along with the current addresses of these people. This process will often only require one appointment with your solicitor.

Thank you for considering leaving a gift in your Will to Hourglass. Hourglass can be included in your Will in the same way as any other beneficiary. You should include our charity name, address and registered charity number. To make this easier, you might consider using this wording:

I leave [amount] to:

Hourglass (Safer Ageing) Ltd,
Office 8, Unit 5 Stour Valley Business Centre,
Brundon Lane, Sudbury,
Suffolk, CO10 7GB.

Registered charity number: 1140543 and SC046278, for its general charitable purposes absolutely.

Yes! You can do this, and make other small changes, using a document known as a Codicil. A Codicil is a document used to amend a Will, which prevents you having to re-write it. This must still be witnessed just as writing your Will was, but it can be cheaper and quicker than completely re-writing it. Please contact us to find out more about Codicil documents.

It is generally a good idea to update your Will after any major life event (such as buying a new house), or otherwise revisiting it every five years. It is worth noting that if you marry after writing your Will, you will need to write a new one, as marriage legally invalidates any pre-existing Will.

An executor(s) are the people named in a Will who are legally responsible for carrying out the instructions left in the Will. It is therefore a good idea to choose people you trust, and who are good with paperwork.

It is recommended that you have two executors, as although you may legally have up to four, this can complicate things and be difficult to manage. An executor must be an adult (aged over 18), and may include people who benefit from your Will. You can also appoint a professional to act as your executor, but this will normally incur a charge.

Thank you for thinking about us while remembering your loved ones.


Some people who have been affected by abuse have generously chosen to ask for donations instead of flowers at a funeral or memorial service. Most providers can organise a charity collection as part of their service. If you would like to do this, please email fundraising@wearehourglass.org for copies of our logo and a summary of our work and values.


We are very grateful to all the relatives and friends who have given us donations in memory of a loved one. These gifts go on to make a profound difference in keeping older people safe, and supporting those who have encountered abuse.