Leaving a lasting gift

As a non-profit charitable organisation, Dumfries House survives on a variety of funding sources to maintain and restore the unique collection of furnishings and works of art, as well as the House itself and its estate.

There are a variety of ways you can give to Dumfries House that will help continue the very important work we have before us:

• A specific gift: this is a bequest of specific personal possessions such as property, works of art or antiquities, stocks and shares.
• A residuary gift: this is the amount of the whole or portion of your estate after other legacies, inheritance tax and expenses have been paid
• A pecuniary gift: this is a fixed sum of money decided by you

You can find out more about leaving gifts to a charity in your will here.

Because we are a charity, the value of this gift will be deducted by the Inland Revenue from the value of your estate before any inheritance tax liability is calculated - so what might have had to be paid in tax can instead be diverted to ensuring the survival of Dumfries House for future generations.

Defining how your gift is used

You can say in your Will that you would like to leave it up to Dumfries House how to use your legacy, so we can apply it to projects most in need at the time (this is covered by 'general purposes' in the statements below). Or you can specify a particular project, part of the house, or artwork that you would like to support. If you have any queries, please contact us here so that we can fulfil your wishes.

Giving a specific item

Sometimes people wish to leave us a specific asset from their estate. This might be a portfolio of shares, or the proceeds from the sale of a house or particular assets of value.

Suggested wording for a gift of assets
"
I give _________ to The Great Steward of Scotland’s Dumfries House Trust, Cumnock, Ayrshire, KA18 2NJ and I declare that the receipt of an authorised officer shall be full and sufficient discharge to my Executors."

Suggested wording for the sale of assets

"I instruct my executors to sell for the best possible price the following: ________ and to give the net proceeds free of all tax to The Great Steward of Scotland’s Dumfries House Trust, Cumnock, Ayrshire, KA18 2NJ for its general purposes and I declare that the receipt of an authorised officer shall be full and sufficient discharge to my Executors."

Giving a portion of your estate

After you have ensured your family and friends receive exactly the percentage of your estate that you want them to, you may wish to leave whatever is left over to Dumfries House. This is called a residuary gift.

Suggested wording for a residuary gift
"
I give ____% of my residuary estate to The Great Steward of Scotland’s Dumfries House Trust, Cumnock, Ayrshire, KA18 2NJ for its general purposes and I declare that the receipt of an authorised officer shall be full and sufficient discharge to my Executors. "

Leaving a sum of money

A gift of a specified sum of money is called a pecuniary gift. You can arrange for it to be 'index-linked' so that its value doesn't get eaten away by inflation over the years.

Suggested wording for a pecuniary gift
"
I give the sum of £__________ to The Great Steward of Scotland’s Dumfries House Trust, Cumnock, Ayrshire, KA18 2NJ for its general purposes and I declare that the receipt of an authorised officer shall be full and sufficient discharge to my Executors."

Suggested wording for a pecuniary gift that keeps up with inflation
"
I give the sum of money produced by dividing the sum of £_______ by the index figure in the Index of Retail Prices ('the Index') for the month in which this Will is executed and (having made allowance for any re-basing of the Index which may have happened in the meantime) multiplying it by the Index figure in the Index for the month in which my death occurs, to The Great Steward of Scotland’s Dumfries House Trust, Cumnock, Ayrshire, KA18 2NJ for its general purposes and I declare that the receipt of an authorised officer shall be full and sufficient discharge to my Executors."