Leave a gift in your Will

Writing or updating your Will

Your Will is one of the most important documents you’ll ever write. To ensure it’s exactly as you want it to be, we recommend using a legal professional to write your Will. Hospiscare has partnered with local solicitors to provide a will-writing service in exchange for a donation to our charity.

There are four simple steps to help you prepare for writing your Will:

Step 1: Create a list of your assets

Assets are anything of value and listing these, along with their estimated value, can save you time and money with your legal professional. Your assets could include property, shares, savings and items of value that you own. The sum of these assets is your estate.

Step 2: Create a list of outstanding payments

Considering things like the payments left on your mortgage and on any loans or bills will give you a much better idea of the value of your estate.

Step 3: Decide who you will remember in your Will

Create a list of the people and organisations – such as the charities you support – that you wish to remember in your Will. Consider how you would like to divide your estate between them, particularly if there are items of sentimental value that you would like to gift.

Step 4: Choose your executors and legal professional

An executor is the person that you choose to carry out the terms of your Will and ensures that your wishes are followed. Most people choose a trusted family member or a legal professional to be their executor. Once you have made your Will, it can be kept safe in the care of your legal professional. Many people choose to keep a copy in a safe place, ensuring their executor knows where to find it.

Updating your Will

If you already have a Will and want to update it, you can choose either to make a new Will or to add a codicil which sets out changes to your existing Will. We recommend that you speak to a legal professional about the best way to update your Will.

The impact of your gift

Leaving a gift in your Will is an opportunity to leave something behind that will last forever. After living with cancer for fourteen years, Kaite’s husband Phillip received the devastating news that it had seriously spread and told his wife, “This is our last adventure together.” Phillip was admitted to our ward at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and died on 28 April 2020.

Afterward, Kaite described Philip’s experience as “the ‘good death’ he wanted, I think – calm, pain-free, unsentimental – with me holding his hand.

“One of Phillip’s last acts of kindness was to change his Will so that he could leave a donation to Hospiscare, to say thank you. We both felt it was important to support such an important charity.”

With your support, we can extend our care to more patients and their families today and in the years to come.

Help Hospiscare remain by the side of your community

Hospiscare works across the heart of Devon providing vital end-of-life care. We’re there for our patients and their families to support them through their diagnosis and to help make every day matter.

We have remained by the side of our community for almost forty years and a large part of this is due to those who think of us when making their Will. One in five of our patients is cared for thanks to this final act of kindness.

“No one knows when, if or how we will need services like Hospiscare. I don’t think I’ve got the words to express how wonderful it is here… Just seeing everything that you do for your patients at Hospiscare means so much. John feels safe here.”

John was cared for on our ward on 2019 with his wife, Vanessa, by his side. Your gift will help families stay together in these precious final moments.

Your questions answered

Can I write my own Will?

We recommend that you write your Will through a qualified legal professional. If you make any errors when writing it yourself, this can cause your Will to be invalidated, which can be stressful for your loved ones.

What happens if I don’t have a Will when I die?

If you die without having an up-to-date Will, it is up to the law to decide how your estate is distributed, which might not reflect your wishes.

What sort of gifts can I leave?

There are three types of gift that you can leave in your Will:

• Residuary – this is a percentage of everything you own, otherwise known as a percentage of your estate.
• Pecuniary – this is a fixed sum of money of your choice
• Specific – this usually relates to an item, e.g. a piece of jewellery

Is a gift to Hospiscare subject to inheritance tax?

Gifts in Wills to charity are free of inheritance tax. Some people see this as a useful way of bringing their estate under the inheritance tax threshold. Your legal professional can advise you about the current threshold.

Should I tell Hospiscare if I include them in my Will?

Your Will is private. It is your choice whether you decide to tell us that you have left a gift to support end-of-life care in your community for generations to come. If you do let us know, we can say thank you and share with you the impact your gift will have.