If you’re thinking about leaving a gift of compassion, there are a number of ways we can assist you. From a helpful booklet of advice – ‘Your Legacy for Farm Animals’ – and our Free Will writing service, to acting as executors, our Legacy Team can help to make the process as easy as possible.

The National Free Wills Network

To assist with the Will-writing process we offer our supporters the opportunity to have a simple Will drafted, free of charge, by a local, qualified solicitor. Order a free pack for more information and a list of participating solicitors. The Will writing service is open to anyone living in the UK, of any age, and is available all year round.

This service is offered through the National Free Wills Network. It applies to the writing of simple Wills, the cost of which will be passed on to Compassion in World Farming. If the chosen solicitor advises that the Will is more complicated, the solicitor will invoice you separately for the extra work. Should this be the case, it is of course your decision whether to proceed with the service.

When using our available free Will writing service you are not obliged in any way to leave a gift in your Will to Compassion in World Farming.

Information to include when leaving a gift

There are two main ways to leave a gift in your Will to Compassion in World Farming:

A residual gift is all, or a percentage of, the estate once all other bequests, costs, etc. have been deducted. For example, a bequest of 10% of an estate valued at £200,000 would provide a gift of £20,000. A residual gift keeps pace with inflation, helping to ensure we can fight even harder for farm animals. This type of gift can also help reduce the need for frequent updating of your Will.

A pecuniary gift is a specific amount of money, and can also play a big part in changing the lives of farm animals. The value of pecuniary legacies decreases over time; for example a generous gift of £2,000 pledged today will be less valuable in future years as the cost of living increases.

Should you wish to include Compassion in World Farming in your Will you will need to use certain legal wording:

For a residual gift:

I give the residue (or a portion of the residue) of my estate to Compassion in World Farming International (registered charity no. 1095050 (England and Wales)) of River Court, Mill Lane, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 1EZ, UK for its charitable purposes.

For a pecuniary gift:

I give the sum of £_________ to Compassion in World Farming International (registered charity no. 1095050 (England and Wales)) of River Court, Mill Lane, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 1EZ, UK, for its charitable purposes.

Updating an existing Will

If you already have a Will, the simplest way to make relatively minor alterations or additions is by making a codicil. This is an instruction that is kept with your existing Will and which your solicitor can help draw up. Alternatively, our Free Will writing service can be used to update an existing Will. Order your pack.

Executorship services

Compassion in World Farming is able to act as an Executor of Wills. Executorship services are where Compassion takes legal responsibility for ensuring that someone’s Estate is disposed of according to the wishes expressed in their Will. If Compassion is to act as an Executor, we would simply ask that the charity is a beneficiary in the Will. For more information on our Executorship service please telephone our Legacy Team on +44 (0)1483 521 953 or email legacy@ciwf.org

Please tell us!

All gifts in Wills left to Compassion are enormously beneficial to help end the cruelty of factory farming. In fact, up to half of Compassion’s work is made possible by legacies. If you have made the decision to leave a gift for farm animals we would love to hear from you. Knowing what has been pledged gives us the confidence that we can be here for as long as farm animals need us. Please tell us about your kind gift.

Your Compassionate story

Do you have a long history of supporting the fight against factory farming, and have now left a gift for farm animals in your Will? Or perhaps you are new to the cause but are passionately committed and have decided to leave a legacy gift? If so, we would love to hear your story. Email legacy@ciwf.org or call +44 (0)1483 521 953 to share your experiences with us.

Any questions?

The Legacy Team is always happy to give advice and support. You can email legacy@ciwf.org anytime or telephone +44 (0)1483 521 953, Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm.

Alternatively, please write to:

Legacy Services
Compassion in World Farming
River Court
Mill Lane
Godalming
Surrey
GU7 1EZ

Please use the form if you want to find out more, order free materials, or to let us know if you have included Compassion in your Will.