Leaving a Legacy
Legacy gifts have played, and continue to play, an important role in the history of Downe House. These are deeply personal donations and have provided bursaries, restored historic buildings, and improved the school site. A gift to Downe House in your will plays a significant role in shaping our school, changing young lives through education and upholding our shared values for generations to come.
Through our partnership with adeus, we can help protect your legacy, and that of your school.
Downe House School
Community Benefits
Valid for residents of England and Wales.
Our online will process will assess your needs, and in most cases through the online tool you can produce a new will. If you have more complex requirements, we can assist with a subsidised will through our partner solicitors.
Through our partnership with the School, Downe House community members receive an online adeus Will at no cost*.
You will also receive complimentary access to the adeus Premium Digital Vault for 12 months. Allowing you to hold all information, including supplementary information, on our platform.
* Wills for Downe House staff are subsidised.
Benefits of Leaving a
Gift in your Will
Leaving a gift in your will can be a simple and tax-efficient way of making a significant donation to the Foundation that will cost nothing in your lifetime. As a registered charity, a legacy to the Downe House Foundation is exempt from Inheritance Tax, and could also reduce the amount of Inheritance Tax paid on the rest of your estate.
In an adeus Will you can leave:
Pecuniary: a specific sum of money.
Specific Gift: A non-cash bequest.
Residuary: A specific share of your estate.
If you give a combined total of at least 10% of your taxable estate to charity, the inheritance tax rate for the rest of your estate drops from 40% to 36%.
Begin your Legacy Journey
If you're not ready to create your will, you can create an adeus account for no cost.
With adeus you can learn more about legacy planning, use the adeus Digital Vault to track your important info and documents, then whenever you're ready, creating a will is a button click away. .
Do you need specialist advice to write your Will?
If you'd prefer to draft your will with specialist advice from a qualified solicitor, or you already have a will and would prefer to provide a gift through a codicil, we can provide a subsidised will through our partner law firms.
Simply provide your name and email address and we will contact you to discuss your needs and introduce you.
"Downe is a thriving institution, still with Olive Willis’ fundamental principles of consideration for others and the pursuit of personal initiatives.
Music was a constant companion during my time at School, whether it was instrumental, orchestral, singing or the frequent visits of guest musicians for concerts. History, Maths, French and German also stood out for me. It has all given me a lifelong appetite for learning and a passionate conviction of the value of a good and varied education.
Gratitude for my education and friendships is my inducement to leaving a legacy, thereby helping the School to inspire curiosity for learning in future generations. Downe’s developing of skills and confidence in young people is so necessary for the initiative of future leadership, much needed by our world today."
Cynthia Rich (DH 1965)
Why people love adeus
I'd been putting off writing my Will, but adeus made it quick, simple and stress-free. It feels comforting knowing my loved ones are protected and will have clear instructions when the time comes. Glad I finally did it!
Emily C, London
adeus has helped me to finally get a will and take away years of if being on my to do list. It was easy and quick to do and I am reassured I can go back and update it at any time.
Caroline V, London
Creating a will with Adeus was refreshingly simple, and the added feature to store my account details securely makes it feel like will-making has finally arrived in the 21st century!
Simon A, Dartmouth
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