A legacy is a gift left to someone in your Will. It usually refers to a specific gift of money or an item, rather than everything you own.
For example, you might decide to leave £5,000 to your granddaughter, your jewellery to your daughter or your collection of paintings to a close friend. These are all examples of legacies.
A legacy allows you to make specific gifts to people who are important to you, rather than simply dividing your entire estate between your beneficiaries.
There are several different types of legacies you may wish to include in your Will.
A cash legacy is a fixed sum of money left to a named person or organisation. For example, you might write: ‘I give the sum of £2,000 to my niece, Sarah.’
Cash legacies can be a meaningful way of providing financial support to loved ones or making donations to charities.
A specific legacy is a gift of a particular item or asset. This could include a piece of jewellery, a vehicle, a family heirloom or a valuable collection.
If you wish to leave a particular item to someone, it is important to describe it clearly in your Will so there is no uncertainty about what you intended to give.
You can also leave money or assets to a registered charity. A charitable legacy allows you to support a cause that matters to you, even after your death.
Charitable gifts may also have inheritance tax benefits, depending on the circumstances of your estate.
When you die, your executors are responsible for administering your estate in accordance with your Will. This includes identifying your assets, settling debts and expenses, and dealing with any inheritance tax that is due.
Legacies are generally paid from your estate before the remaining assets are distributed to your residuary beneficiaries. This means that, when deciding how much to leave as a cash legacy, it is important to consider how much money will be left over to form part of your residuary estate.
For example, if your estate is worth £250,000 and you leave £20,000 in cash legacies, only £230,000 will remain before taking into account any outstanding debts, expenses or tax. That remaining amount will form part of your residuary estate and will be distributed in accordance with the terms of your Will.
Leaving substantial legacies without considering the overall value of your estate could mean that your residuary beneficiaries receive less than you anticipated. In some circumstances, if there are insufficient funds to meet all your liabilities and gifts, legacies may be reduced or fail altogether.
If someone you have named in your Will dies before you, the gift may fail, depending on the wording of your Will and the circumstances.
For example, if you leave £5,000 to a friend who dies before you, that gift will not necessarily pass to their children.
We can help you include suitable provisions explaining what should happen if a beneficiary dies before you. This can help avoid uncertainty and ensure your wishes are followed as closely as possible.
Although leaving a legacy may seem straightforward, careful drafting is essential. Ambiguous wording, outdated gifts or a lack of consideration for changes in your circumstances can cause difficulties for your executors.
We can help you draft your Will so that your gifts are clearly expressed and fit within your wider estate-planning arrangements.
Article dated: 28.9.2026
Bethany is our Wills & Probate Paralegal based at our Melton Mowbray Office.
She has an impressive law background after achieving an Honours Bachelor of Law and a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Beginning her career as a Litigation Paralegal in the Supreme Court of Queensland, Australia, Bethany has moved to th United Kingdom to become admitted as a Solicitor.
Outside of work, Bethany enjoys walking through the countryside with her dog as well as horse riding.
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