Leaving a gift in your Will: A lasting legacy

One of the most powerful ways to help support a future without heart disease is to include a gift to the Heart Foundation in your Will

One of the most powerful ways to help support a future without heart disease is to include a gift to the Heart Foundation in your Will.

As well as ensuring that the Heart Foundation will have the resources to fund vital heart research in the years to come, gifts in Wills mean we can confidently continue our work to improve heart disease prevention and care for future generations of Australians.

From guiding health professionals to prevent and treat heart disease, educating people about healthy lifestyle choices, supporting those living with heart conditions and advocating to government and industry, everything we do is with the aim of making it easier for Australians to lead happy, heart-healthy lives.

By including a gift to the Heart Foundation in your Will, you’ll be making the greatest commitment to saving future Australian hearts and creating a better tomorrow.

What is a gift in Will?

A gift in Will – also known as a bequest – is the donation you make when you include the Heart Foundation in your Will.

This donation can be a percentage or share of your estate (that is, the money, property and other assets you own); a specific sum of money; property; shares; or even the whole of your estate.

We’re deeply grateful for every gift we receive, no matter what size, as it brings us one step closer to an Australia free of heart disease.

Why leave a gift in your Will?

You’ll have a long-lasting impact on heart research

Many of the medical breakthroughs of today were made possible by those who came before us. Every year, bequests made by kind people like you fund more than 50 per cent of our life-saving cardiovascular research.

By including the Heart Foundation in your Will, you’ll provide the long-term funding that’s needed to make the next significant breakthroughs in the fight against heart disease and save Australian hearts.

You’ll support people living with heart disease

Your bequest will ensure we can keep providing life-changing support to people impacted by heart disease. We do this through:

The care guidelines we provide to health professionals
The high-quality care we support for people living with heart disease
The education and heart-health programs we run in the community about the symptoms, risk factors and prevention of heart disease.

Your legacy will live on through the lives you save

Thanks to bequests made by visionary supporters, just like you, Australia’s heart disease death rate has fallen by a staggering 86 per cent since 1968.

But heart disease is still the biggest killer of Australians. So by funding vital heart research, advocacy and awareness programs, your bequest will help bring this rate down even further in the years to come.

Types of bequests

There are a number of ways you can include a gift in your Will. Here are some of the main options, but anything you decide will be based on your individual circumstances and preferences.

Any bequest amount, large or small, is greatly valued because it ensures that we will have the funds to continue supporting research into heart disease and save more Australian hearts, for generations to come.

Whole estate

This is when you choose to leave your entire estate to the Heart Foundation. Many people who don’t have children are choosing this exceptionally generous option.

Residual bequest

A residual bequest is one in which you leave a portion of your estate to the Heart Foundation. It’s commonly stated as a percentage of your estate residue, or the amount that’s left once you’ve taken care of your loved ones and expenses.

More than 600 of our supporters have told us they’ve chosen to include a residual bequest in their Will, because these gifts have the greatest impact on the future of heart research in Australia. That’s because residual bequests:

Are simple. You don’t know what your final estate will contain, but a percentage gives you peace of mind.
Automatically adjust to changes in your estate’s value
Allow you to take care of your loved ones first – just as Kate Rowe did. Read Kate’s story now.
Allow you to include a few of your preferred charities equally.

Leave a specific amount: Pecuniary bequest

This is when you choose to leave a specific amount of money to the Heart Foundation in your Will. While these gifts are deeply appreciated, a percentage gift may give you more peace of mind.

A common pecuniary gift is $20,000. Keep in mind that more and more supporters, just like you, are including percentages – such as 10 or 20 per cent of their estate – as gifts to the Heart Foundation in their Wills.

How you can include a gift in your Will

Including a gift in your Will to the Heart Foundation is a straightforward process, regardless of the type of bequest you choose to make, or whether you already have a Will. Find out more about the process and what wording you need to include here.

I decided to include a gift in my Will to the Heart Foundation after losing Mum. I chose to make it a percentage gift, because you never know what a cash gift will be worth in the future – but a percentage is always a percentage.

- Lucy Ford, Heart Foundation supporter

Let us know about your bequest

If you’ve decided to include a gift to the Heart Foundation in your Will, it would be wonderful if you could let us know. We’d love to have the chance to thank you personally, and talk to you about the different ways your visionary gift could be used.

Knowing about your bequest also helps us to plan future heart research, support and advocacy programs with confidence, and make sure your wishes are fulfilled.

You can let us know about your bequest by emailing giftsinwills@heartfoundation.org.au  or calling (02) 9219 2444 and asking to speak with our Bequest Manager.

Wills are about looking after family and leaving a bequest does that in a different way. [Including a gift in your Will] helps to make things better for generations to come, and that’s what I want.

- Kate Rowe, Heart Foundation supporter

Would you like to know more about leaving a gift to the Heart Foundation in your Will?

Request an information pack

Leaving a gift in your Will: A lasting legacy

One of the most powerful ways to help support a future without heart disease is to include a gift to the Heart Foundation in your Will

What is a gift in Will?

Why leave a gift in your Will?

You’ll have a long-lasting impact on heart research

You’ll support people living with heart disease

Your legacy will live on through the lives you save

Types of bequests

Whole estate

Residual bequest

Leave a specific amount: Pecuniary bequest

How you can include a gift in your Will

Let us know about your bequest

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How to prepare your Will to include a bequest

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