Thank you for considering leaving a legacy to MCS. Remembering the school in your will is very straightforward. There are four main ways to give:

• Pecuniary Legacy: leaving a fixed sum of money to MCS. When making this type of gift it is possible to index link your gift to ensure the intended value is secure.
• Residuary Legacy: leaving a share of your estate to MCS after all other responsibilities have been met. A residuary legacy is beneficial in that the value of the gift remains in proportion to your estate, protected from inflation.
• Specific Legacy: leaving a non-monetary gift, such as property, stocks and shares, an item, collection or service to MCS.
• Reversionary Legacy: leaving your assets to trustees so that family members or other beneficiaries can benefit from your estate, or part of it, during their lifetime, with all or a portion of the capital going to MCS after their death.

Once you have decided which option is right for you, we advise you to consult your solicitor or will writer to assist you in making a bequest.

We always recommend that you speak to your solicitor or will writer about the most appropriate wording for your will, but you can use the following sample wording as a guideline:

‘I give Magdalen College School (registered charity number 295785) of Cowley Place, Oxford OX4 1DZ, the whole or [%] of my residuary estate OR the sum of £X to support where need is greatest. I direct that the receipt of the Bursar or another authorised officer of the charity shall be a full and sufficient discharge to my personal representative.’

To index link a pecuniary gift, sample wording could include, ‘I declare that this legacy shall be increased by simple interest of 3% per annum from the date of execution of my will until the date of my death.’

Yes, you can designate how you wish your gift to be used to support MCS. Most frequently we receive legacy gifts to the bursary endowment or the area of greatest need. If you would like your gift to be directed to a specific purpose, we can work with you on more detailed wording; please contact Susie Baker or Kristina McClendon to discuss.

If you have already made a will, you can add a beneficiary to it by means of a codicil. The Waynflete Office is happy to provide example wording which can be used by you or your solicitor to amend your existing will, or you can download this here. If you have any questions about writing a codicil you should seek advice from your solicitor.

Yes. We explored leaving a gift in your will and many other aspects of estate planning with an expert panel from Withersworldwide which you can watch below.

Yes, Magdalen College School is a Registered Charity (no. 295785) whose registered offices are at Cowley Place, Oxford OX4 1DZ.

As a registered charity, gifts to the school are exempt from Inheritance Tax (IHT) in the UK.

MCS is a Registered Charity so gifts to the school are exempt from Inheritance Tax (IHT) in the UK.
If you leave charitable gifts in your will that amount to 10% or more of your chargeable net estate, the IHT rate on the whole of your estate will be reduced from 40% to 36%. Below is an illustration of how charitable gifts of two different sizes would work in practice for a single person’s gross estate of £1,000,000.

By leaving a 10% charitable bequest on the net estate, the heirs forego £16,200 as the net estate is then subject to lower tax, and the charity (or charities) would receive a donation of £67,500.

The HMRC website provides an online calculator to help you establish whether a charitable legacy will meet the qualifying criteria.

Please note this is for illustrative purposes only; we encourage you to seek professional legal advice regarding your own personal circumstances. Figures correct as of the 2023/24 tax year.

You can specify in your will that you would like to leave 10% of your estate to charity. You can update or change the named charities without having to rewrite your will through a letter of wishes.

Yes. If you inherit through a will, you can use a deed of variation to give all or part of the inheritance directly to charities, which is tax efficient and reduces inheritance tax too, provided it is done within two years of inheriting.

No. We understand that the decision to leave a gift to MCS in your will is a very personal matter, so there is no need to let us know the value of your planned gift, nor will it represent a binding commitment. However, we hope you will tell us about your plans so that we can recognise your generosity and thank you. You can do so via this form.

If you are planning to leave a gift to MCS in your will, we would like to invite you to become a member of the Bob Stanier Legacy Society (more below), which celebrates the generosity of our donors. There is no need to tell us the value of your planned gift to join the Society.

Yes, we accept legacies made in memory of someone who loved and valued MCS in life. If you’ve received a gift from their will, you can direct it to MCS through a deed of variation. Making a donation in memory of a loved one can be a particularly meaningful way to honour their life and what was important to them. If you make a gift in this way to the endowment, we will be delighted to honour the memory of your loved one in calligraphy in the MCS Endowment Book.

Equally, you may prefer to make a one-off gift in their memory here.

To pledge a legacy to MCS, please fill in this form or contact the Waynflete Office directly.