Step-By-Step Guide
It is very easy to leave a gift (a bequest) in your Will to enable MS Auckland to continue its important work in the years to come.
When preparing your Will, we recommend you seek the assistance of your family solicitor or a trustee company (such as the Public Trust or Perpetual Guardian Trust), to ensure your wishes are properly recorded. We do encourage you to take care of family and other loved ones first.
You will also need to tell them what kind of gift you’d like to make. There are a variety of ways to leave a gift in your Will to MS Auckland, depending on what suits you best:
Residuary Bequest – here you make a gift to MS Auckland of what is left over, or a percentage thereof (the residue) in your estate after all expenses and debts have been settled and your loved ones have been provided for.
Pecuniary Bequest – this means a specified sum of money in your Will is gifted to MS Auckland.
Specified Bequest – this is where a particular item of value (for example stocks or shares, property or works of art) is gifted to MS Auckland.
In some cases, it is even possible to make a Will online. Ask your solicitor or trustee company for guidance.
If you already have a Will, then including a gift to MS Auckland is simple and quick and done by using the following steps:
If you have any questions at all please contact Paul Anderson, Donation and Bequests Officer on 09 845 5921; or paul@msakl.org.nz, or Nicola Bitossi, General Manager
Step 1
Decide whether you wish to leave to MS Auckland:
- a percentage of your estate (or) all of your estate, 100%
- a percentage of the residue(or) all of the residue of your estate, 100% (this is what is left following payment of all debts and expenses and after provision for family and other beneficiaries)
- a specified sum of money
- a particular item or items (e.g. property, stocks and shares, works of art, antiques)
Your solicitor can answer any questions you may have about these options.
Step 2
Tell your solicitor or trustee company that you would like to add a Codicil to your Will. A Codicil is a simple statement that can be added to your existing Will at any time, to alter or modify it. A simple Codicil form is available to download as a link on each of the options above, mentioned in Step 1, or your solicitor can draw one up for you to take away. You can provide them with the following wording:
“I give and bequeath to The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Auckland and the North Shore Inc.
(MS Auckland – CC 10863) for their work in supporting people with Multiple Sclerosis in the Auckland Region:
[list here the percentage of residue or specific amount of money or items], free of all death and estate duties and I declare that the official receipt of MS Auckland shall be a full and sufficient discharge to my Executors.”
Step 3
Once your Codicil is signed, witnessed (you must have two independent witnesses who are not beneficiaries under your Will), and returned to your solicitor, they will add it to your existing Will. It’s as easy as that.
Step 4
Please let us know! It will help us enormously as we plan for the future and we would like to acknowledge your generosity during your lifetime. If you would like your gift to remain anonymous, we will of course respect your wishes.
Thank you so much for this wonderful commitment to the future of our work.
If you have any questions at all please contact Paul Anderson, Donation and Bequests Officer on 09 845 5921; or paul@msakl.org.nz, or Nicola Bitossi, General Manager nicola@msakl.org.nz