Legacies & Wills

Making a Will & Leaving a Legacy Donation

Why Support Mary Stevens Hospice?

Hospice care might be needed by anyone at any time. The Mary Stevens Hospice has a reputation for providing high class Palliative Care services for patients and their families.

A life-threatening illness whether it is a form of cancer, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, motor neurone disease or any other progressive condition can affect anyone irrespective of job, class or age. Palliative care is the care given to people who are no longer responsive to curative treatment. The Mary Stevens Hospice provides services to those suffering from
advanced cancer and other life-threatening and disabling diseases. Care is given to patients free of charge, irrespective of background, race or religion, purely on their need and our ability to help.

Some Hospice Facts...
Running the Hospice each year costs around £2 million pounds. Occasionally people think that the Hospice is funded totally by the NHS. They are unaware that whilst Mary Stevens does receive a small amount of funding from this source (18%) the remaining source of income (82%) is raised purely from voluntary contributions. These donations are from a variety of sources including legacies, in-memoriam donations, general fundraising, events and trust & grant giving bodies.

Your gift to us will help us to continue caring for seriously ill patients, offering them the very best care.

Making Your Will - Will you do it now?

If you haven't made your Will yet, then right now is the best time to think of doing it.
Everyone needs a Will - it's the only way of making sure that the things you own in your estate go to the people you care about.
Making a Will is important for anyone over the age of 18 (or under this age if serving in the armed forces).
Your Will can spare distress to your family and friends and stop legal wrangling following your death as your wishes are expressly stated.
Sometimes people assume that everything they own will automatically pass to their next of kin. This is an easy assumption to make. The fact is that without a Will your estate is subject to 'intestacy rules' Your spouse would not necessarily have first claim on the estate, leaving them without financial security in the future.
When you have thought about your loved ones/dependants/friends and provided for them in your Will, you may wish to donate to a charity. This guide explains in easy steps how you can leave a bequest or legacy to Mary Stevens Hospice.
Making provision for a charity in your Will can have many benefits. This booklet offers some helpful suggestions for you and your solicitor to discuss as you prepare to draft your Will.

Note any special instructions

When you and your solicitor have decided on the value of your estate, you can then begin to think how you would like to share it out.

If you want your personal items to go to your relatives and friends, you should make mention of these specific items in your Will. Give an exact description of the items you wish to leave and to whom.

If you are married, any possessions that are jointly owned will usually go to the survivor.

Nominate your Executors

Your Executors should be appointed by you to be responsible for making sure that the wishes contained in your Will are carried out. It is always advisable to appoint two people but you can have up to four. An Executor can also be a beneficiary in your Will.

Write clearly, the Names & Addresses of your Executors.

Leaving a Legacy

Planning for the future is a very personal process for yourself and your family. It involves looking closely at the things you believe in, how you feel about your family’s inheritance, and how you want to be remembered by society.

A legacy is a gift for the future-and for the generations to come. As an independent hospice, Mary Stevens relies upon community support for its work.

If you leave a legacy to Mary Stevens Hospice you can be assured your gift will:

Serve the local community by providing quality
palliative care to patients and their families
Be used to benefit patients directly
Provide a vital need to individuals and to the community

There are a number of ways you can leave a legacy to Mary Stevens. We would advise you to seek the advice of a solicitor when drawing up a legal document. Personal recommendation is very often the best method of choosing a solicitor, however you may also find details of local solicitors at your local library, in the Yellow Pages or at the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Here are a number of ways that you could leave a legacy:

Pecuniary Legacy
Specific Legacy
Residuary Legacy

1. Pecuniary Legacy

This type of gift is a fixed amount of money. It is simple and straightforward but makes no allowance for inflation. If you wish to leave a pecuniary legacy to help our work, please ask your solicitor to use the suggested wording below.

"I give the sum of £........................................................................(in words –pounds) free of Tax to Mary Stevens Hospice (Registered charity no 517656) of 221 Hagley Road, Oldswinford, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY8 2JR"

2. Specific Legacy

A specific legacy enables you to leave something of value to Mary Stevens Hospice, which can be used by the charity appropriately. These can be items of jewellery, property, shares or furniture. It must be clearly identified in your Will and you should be aware that if you do not own the item at your death it will not pass to the Hospice.

"I GIVE my...............................................................to Mary Stevens Hospice (Registered Charity 517656) of 221 Hagley Road, Oldswinford Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY8 2JR for its general purposes and I DECLARE that receipt from the Treasurer or other proper officer for the time being of the Charity shall be a good discharge to my executors."

3. Residuary Legacy

A residuary legacy is when you leave the balance of your estate to Mary Stevens Hospice after everything else is taken care of e.g. debts, liabilities and tax. Also once any specific and pecuniary legacies have been made.

Suggested suitable wording for a Residuary Legacy

"Subject to the payment of my debts, funeral and testamentary expenses, legacies and all tax payable from my estate, I GIVE all my real and personal property whatsoever and wheresoever situated not hereby or by any codicil hereto specifically disposed of (including any property over which I may have a general power of appointment or disposition by Will) to Mary Stevens Hospice (registered Charity 517656) of 221 Hagley Road, Oldswinford, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY8 2JR for it’s general purposes absolutely and I DECLARE that receipt from the Treasurer or other proper officer for the time being of the charity shall be a good discharge for the gift to my executors."

Thank you for considering the inclusion of Mary Stevens Hospice in your Will. If you would like further information of the work of the Hospice or find out about other ways you could support our work, please ring the fundraising office on 01384 377778 or main reception on 01384 443010.

Please Note: We are not able to advise further on legal matters relating to the leaving of a legacy as such other advice should come from an independent solicitor or other professional adviser.