case study two

Sally: The Philanthropist

My relationship with Lonsdale is more than just professional; these days I count them amongst my closest friends as well. I was introduced to Laurence and Ralph by way of a referral, since I had inherited a sizeable estate from my Father that was heavily invested in stocks and shares (which I’d had no experience of) and generated a large tax liability for me every year. This was difficult for me to manage on my own, since I had relatively little other income or pension to live off, and have not been in the best of health for a while.

When I met with Lonsdale for the first time we talked for ages about my life, the things I enjoy doing, (my particular passions are sailing, cruising, and animals), and the legacy that I ultimately wanted to leave with the money I had inherited. I don’t have any immediate family, but I do like to help others where I can, and had planned to leave almost my entire estate to charity.

Lonsdale, who were busy tackling my tax affairs in the meantime, had a ‘eureka moment’ which would encompass all of these things. They advised me to start gifting lumps of money from my estate to the various charities that I loved whilst I was still alive, so I could see for myself the benefit that my money was having to them. Not only have they helped me plan the financial side of things, but they have actually organised and accompanied me on visits to these charities to see the difference that my donations have made to them, and experience first hand the enjoyment that I receive from helping people.

My first donation was to the Hearing Dogs For The Deaf foundation. Laurence and Ralph arranged a tour of the charity’s facilities, where I met the puppies in training and the trainers themselves. I also subsequently met and befriended the person who received one of the actual dogs whose training I had funded.

This gave me such a wonderful feeling that I decided to make a bigger gift to another charity that has been close to my heart since childhood: the RNLI. I funded the building of an inshore lifeboat, and Lonsdale arranged for me to watch the boat being built, as well as escorting me to the official naming ceremony (where the RNLI kindly invited me along as a guest of honour) and watched the boat as it was launched into the sea to dock at its station in Southern Ireland. One of the proudest moments of my life was during a cruise that I was on shortly afterwards, which docked just up shore from the Lifeboat Station. The RNLI had heard that I was on this cruise, and the lifeboat sailed to where we were docked, and circled around our ship in a kind of ‘seafarer’s salute’.

Since then, Lonsdale have made my estate fully tax efficient – to the point that I now have a more comfortable way of life, enjoy all the experiences that I want to, and pay considerably less tax. My inheritance is being used in a way that makes me feel really proud, and Lonsdale is always on the end of the phone when I want to chat, or make further arrangements for my current project: funding a new Lifeboat Station, and hopefully several more boats in the future!

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