Information for executors and solicitors

Paying in a legacy

However you make payment, please tell us who the legacy is from, so that we can record the gift accurately and acknowledge it promptly.

By bank transfer

This is our preferred method. A BACS transfer is free of charge, so every penny left to us can be spent on Beating Macular Disease.

Please use the bank details below, using the reference 'LEG + surname and initial(s) of the deceased.' 

Bank: Barclays Bank
Sort code: 20 46 73
Account number: 60 86 90 90
Account name: The Macular Society (may also appear as Macular Disease Society)

Please let us know when making the transfer, so that we have a record of who you are and how to acknowledge receipt of the gift. To let us know please email us at legacies@macularsociety.org or call us on 01264 322 410. 

By cheque

Please make your cheque payable to Macular Society and send it to Legacies team, Macular Society, Crown Chambers, South Street, Andover, Hampshire SP10 2BN. Please give us the name of the deceased, your relationship to them, and your postal or email address so that we can send you a receipt.

Other methods

You can make a legacy payment by phone using a credit or debit card on 01264 350 551. Please tell us the name of the donor and your relationship to them, and where to send your receipt. 

Please do not pay in a legacy via our website or an online tribute page. Both incur charges and can make it difficult to distinguish a legacy from an in-memory donation.

If the gift has a local restriction

All legacy administration is managed at our office in Andover. The Macular Society does not have regional branches, and our volunteers are not authorised to handle legacy payments.

If a Will names a specific nation, region or group, or uses a personal or group contact address, please get in touch with our legacy team. We will help you complete the administration and ensure the gift is received safely and spent as the donor wished.

Guidance for solicitors administering an estate

Pecuniary estates

If the Macular Society is a pecuniary or cash beneficiary, we would be grateful if you could provide:

• the deceased’s full name and last address
• an extract of the Will or codicil that mentions our bequest and any restrictions on use of the gift.

Residuary estates

If the Macular Society is a residuary beneficiary, we would be grateful if you could provide:

• a complete copy of the Will and any codicils
• a schedule of assets and liabilities at the time of death, or a copy of the relevant IHT form
• notification of when Probate or Confirmation was granted
• if the estate contains a property to be sold, copies of three independent property valuations or the Home Report
• final estate accounts in due course.

Guidance for non-professional executors

If you are a family member or friend acting as executor, thank you. Your time and effort are very much appreciated. If we can help you in any way, please get in touch.

Pecuniary gifts

If the Macular Society is to benefit from a pecuniary gift (a simple sum of money specified in the Will), we would be grateful if you could provide:

• the full name and most recent address of the person whose estate you are dealing with. This allows us to check our records and, if they were known to us personally, to make sure no further post is sent to them
• a copy of the extract in the Will where our gift is mentioned; this is particularly important if the donor has specified a use for the gift e.g. research.

Residuary gifts

If the Macular Society is to receive a share in the residue of the estate, we ask for a little more information. 

At the start of the administration, we would be grateful if you could send us:

• a complete copy of the Will and any codicils (if requested - our notifications service often provides this)
• if possible, a copy of the IHT form you submitted to HMRC before applying for probate
• if there is a property to be sold, we would also appreciate seeing the local estate agent valuations you have received.

Towards the end of the administration, could you please provide:

• final estate accounts. These can be a simple summary of assets in the estate, debts settled and payments made. Estate accounts are necessary for us, as they show our auditors the balance of the estate available to be shared between the residuary beneficiaries. We can provide an Excel template if this would be helpful.  

We recommend you send draft accounts to all residuary beneficiary charities before making any cash distribution from the estate. It is much easier to correct errors before payments have been made.

All of the information can be sent to us by email using our contact details below.

Working with charities in an estate

All charities who are residuary beneficiaries will ask for the same documents, so it may be worth asking one of us to act as 'lead' charity, saving you time and money.

The lead charity will coordinate correspondence between you and the charities during administration, forwarding your correspondence and seeking a combined response where needed.

Charities welcome an update from time to time on the progress you are making. Being consulted on matters such as the sale of shares or property is especially welcome. If we are consulted early, we may be able to save the estate money by advising on things like the appropriation of property.

There's a wealth of experience and expertise in many of the charities who benefit from gifts in Wills - and it's free - so please ask and we'll do our best to help.

Call us on 01264 322 410 or email legacies@macularsociety.org

When making a Will for a client

Please use our name, address and registered charity number if a client wishes to include a gift to the Macular Society in their Will:

Macular Society
Crown Chambers
South Street
Andover
Hampshire
SP10 2BN

Registered charity numbers:

1001198 England, Wales and Northern Ireland
SC042015 Scotland
1123 Isle of Man

Macular Society is the trading name of The Macular Disease Society. If a Will already contains a bequest to the Macular Disease Society, it doesn't need to be changed. Our registered charity numbers and charitable objectives remain the same.

More than one in three of our research projects is funded by legacy donations, as well as over 50% of our support services - such as counselling, information and local support groups. If a client would like their gift to be spent specifically on research or in another way, please express this as a wish in the Will rather than a binding commitment. We always endeavour to use funds in the specified way, on research or in a particular nation or region, so long as sufficient need exists.  

A codicil form is available to download below or see our advice on Will wording if you wish.

If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

If you are organising the funeral

We have gift aid envelopes to help with funeral collections, as well as online pages which can be set up to enable those unable to attend to pay their respects. To request these items please call us or see our Give in memory page.

Our contact details

Our legacy administration team can be contacted by email on legacies@macularsociety.org or by phone on 01264 322 410.

Your main contacts are likely to be Debbie Smith (legacy administration officer), Davina Mackay (legacy administration consultant) or Julie Edwards (head of legacies). All are authorised to issue a receipt for the gift.

Our registered office address is Macular Society, Crown Chambers, South Street, Andover, Hampshire SP10 2BN.

Older Wills may give an earlier address that we no longer use. Please contact us if the charity contact details given in the Will are not as above, so that we can prevent valuable funds from going astray.

We are very happy to correspond by email or post, as you wish, and to receive documents as PDF files by email.