WillowSpecific cash gifts in your Will: how pecuniary legacies work
Alongside named items and a share of the residue, a lot of Wills also include straightforward gifts of money: a fixed amount left to a particular person or cause. These are usually called pecuniary legacies, and while they are one of the simplest gifts you can make, a few details are worth understanding before you settle on the amounts.
What a specific cash gift actually is
A pecuniary legacy is a gift of a fixed sum, for example “I give £5,000 to my friend Sarah.” Unlike a specific item, it is not tied to any one particular asset. It is paid out of the general estate, which means it does not fail simply because a particular bank account or investment no longer exists by the time you die.
How cash gifts sit alongside other gifts in your Will
Your Will can include any combination of specific item gifts, cash gifts, and a residuary gift for whatever is left over. Cash gifts are generally paid before the residue is calculated, which means a large cash gift can meaningfully reduce what is left for your residuary beneficiaries, so it is worth thinking about the two together rather than in isolation.
The one thing cash gifts do not protect against: inflation
A gift of £10,000 written into a Will today will not necessarily buy what it does now by the time it is actually paid out, particularly if your Will is not updated for many years. This is not a reason to avoid cash gifts, but it is worth reviewing the amounts periodically, especially after a long gap since you last looked at your Will, rather than assuming a figure chosen years ago still reflects what you intended.
What happens if there is not enough money to pay them
If your estate does not have enough available funds to pay every cash gift in full once debts and expenses are settled, the gifts are reduced rather than paid in the order they appear in your Will. We cover exactly how that works, and what is protected first, in our guide to what happens if there is not enough money for your cash gifts.
Wondering what happens if your estate cannot cover every gift in full? Our guide on what happens if there is not enough money for your cash gifts explains the order in which gifts are reduced.
Start my WillChoosing sensible amounts
A few things are worth thinking through as you decide on figures. Consider the overall size of your estate, since a set of generous cash gifts can unintentionally leave very little for your residuary beneficiaries. Consider whether a percentage of your estate might reflect your intentions more reliably than a fixed sum, particularly if your estate’s value is likely to change significantly over time. And consider reviewing the figures every few years, in the same way you might review any other part of your Will.
Common questions about cash gifts
Is a cash gift the same as a share of the residue?
No. A cash gift is a fixed amount, paid before the residue is worked out. A residuary gift is a share of whatever is left afterwards, and its value can go up or down depending on how the estate performs overall.
Can I leave a cash gift to a charity?
Yes, and this is extremely common. A cash gift to a named charity works in exactly the same way as a cash gift to an individual.
What happens if the person I have left a cash gift to dies before me?
Unless your Will names an alternative, the gift generally lapses and falls back into the residue, rather than passing automatically to that person’s own family. This is worth setting out explicitly if you would prefer a different outcome.
Setting this up with Willow
When you write your Will with Willow, our Premium plan lets you add as many specific cash gifts as you like, to individuals or charities, alongside your other gifts and your residuary estate.
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Start my WillThis guide sets out general information about cash gifts in a Will for England and Wales. It is not legal advice, and the right amounts for your own circumstances depend on the size and nature of your estate.