Leave a gift in your Will

Leave a gift in your Will

Help make every day matter, now and in the future, with a gift in your Will.

We understand that your loved ones come first when the time comes to write or update your Will, but it’s also a way to continue to support a cause that matters to you. Leaving a gift to Hospiscare could help ensure that our care for local patients and their loved ones is available for generations to come.

What happens to your money and the things that are precious to you when you’re gone shouldn’t be left to chance. A Will ensures that your loved ones are looked after when you are no longer here and your final wishes are understood.

Gifts in Wills funds the care of one in five of our patients. Thank you for considering whether leaving a gift to Hospiscare is right for you.

Download our gifts in Wills guide here or click on the headings below to navigate to the information you need.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with our advisor Louise on 01392 688020 or at legacyinfo@hospiscare.co.uk.

On this page you’ll find information on the following topics. Click on the links below or scroll down the page to get started.

Writing or updating your Will

The impact of your gift

Help Hospiscare remain by the side of your community

Your questions answered

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Hospiscare’s will-writing service

We’ve partnered with local legal professionals to offer a will-writing service. Our partner solicitors support Hospiscare by waiving their usual fee for writing a standard single or joint Will in return for a donation to Hospiscare.

Find out more
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It's simple to leave a gift

“The nurses cared for my wife Mary, and for me, as we spent her final days in the hospice. I wanted to show my appreciation of the wonderful care we received by leaving a gift in my Will to Hospiscare. It was easy to do and it is lovely to be able to say thank you to the doctors and nurses in this way.”

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.

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Compassionate care

“We are both hugely grateful to the staff at Hospiscare, who gave Phillip such tender and expert palliative care, and in the most challenging of conditions, in the middle of a pandemic. Against all the odds, they allowed me to be with Phillip, showing such compassion.”

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.

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Care now and in the future

We know that, together, we can do so much more. In 1983, Hospiscare could look after just 45 patients. A generation later, we care for over 2,000 patients and their families – but with your help we could reach so many more.

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.

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