Most importantly, we recommend that everyone obtains expert legal advice when making or amending a Will.

The importance of making a Will

It is in the interest of everyone over the age of 18 to have a valid Will.  Making a Will is the positive process of creating a legal document which specifies:

Without a valid Will, your Estate is likely to be distributed in accordance with a Government formula that specifies which relatives are entitled to what portion of your Estate. Such circumstances do not provide for distributions to friends, charities or other organizations that you may favour.

It is desirable for every adult to have a valid Will. We recommend that advice be sought from a solicitor or other suitably qualified legal advisor, when making a Will.
 

1. List everyone you intend as beneficiaries: family members, friends, charities, etc.
2. List all of your assets and liabilities and thus determine your financial net worth, Make allowance for any assets that may not go through your Will which may include assets jointly held, superannuation fund assets, proceeds of insurance policies, etc.
3. List the beneficiaries and decide what type of bequest you would like to leave for each beneficiary. There are several types of bequests (refer to “Types of Bequests” section). Ensure that your loved ones are taken care of first and then consider bequests for charities and other organizations
4. If you decide to leave a bequest for Diabetes Victoria and/or other charities, you may wish to discuss your intentions with your family, to ensure that they understand your reasons for doing so
5. Decide who will be the executor of your Will and check that they are happy to take that role
6. You may wish to improve your knowledge of Will drafting and Estate planning issues before visiting a solicitor to prepare your Will. Our Donor Relations Officers can provide assistance including relevant publications (refer to “Assistance with Will Preparation and Bequest Nomination” section)
7. Keep your signed Will in a safe place. Notify your family and Executor of the location of your Will
8. Review your Will regularly, at least every five years or potentially more frequently depending upon changes to your circumstances (refer below). For simple changes, a Codicil can be added to your existing Will.

1. Marriage, separation or divorce
2. Commencing or ending a de facto relationship
3. Having children (including adopted or foster children or the introduction of step-children)
4. A change (or possible change) in the personal status of a proposed beneficiary
5. Death of a proposed beneficiary (including a spouse or partner)
6. A change in circumstances or health of a beneficiary, family member or close friend
7. Major events affecting your assets including the disposal of a significant portion of your estate or the disposal of an asset specifically referred to in the Will
8. The desire to include new or alternative beneficiaries, including charitable organisations
9. Changes to taxation laws
10. Death, ageing or ill health of the Executor of your Will.

A gift in your Will (a bequest) can be given to Diabetes Victoria for general purposes. This provides us with maximum flexibility. In such circumstances, we will apply your bequest to the most urgent diabetes issue at the time that your bequest becomes available.

Alternatively, you may wish to specify in your Will that your bequest is to be applied to a specific purpose. Such purposes could include:

Research

Which includes support for: (a) medical research to help improve the medical management of diabetes or to find a cure and/or (b) research into the social/psychological aspects of diabetes – with the aim of improving the quality of life of all people affected by diabetes.

Education

Which aims to help people with diabetes to better understand and manage the disease; promote diabetes self-management techniques; increase community awareness, and expand type 2 diabetes prevention programs (the cause of type 1 diabetes is not fully understood and it cannot be prevented at this stage).

Children and diabetes

Helps to provide programs for children with (type 1) diabetes. These programs include multi-day live-in camps as well as day functions for children/teenagers up to 18 years of age. These camps/functions help children to gain confidence in managing their diabetes and to acquire skills to live an independent active life.

There are three main forms of bequest:

1. Specific Bequest – this specifies a defined gift, whether it is a sum of money, property, life insurance policy, company shares, jewellery, etc.
2. Percentage or Fractional Bequest – this is expressed as a percentage (or fraction) of your Estate. This method takes inflation into account and is more beneficial to your charity of choice.
3. Residual Bequest – once you have provided specific bequests for your loved ones and/or other beneficiaries, a Residual Bequest will ensure that the remainder of your Estate is distributed to your chosen charity(s). Alternatively, the Residual Bequest could be allocated (in percentage terms) to a combination of your loved ones and chosen charities.

If you require any assistance with leaving a gift in your Will to Diabetes Victoria please contact our bequest team on 1300 437 386. Please note that our donor relations officers do not give legal advice.

However, we can assist by:

1. Providing details of our recommended Will wording for a gift to Diabetes Victoria. This wording will vary depending on whether the gift is a cash amount; a specific asset; a portion of the estate; or the residuary of the Estate;
2. Discussing options for the allocation of your gift. For example, your gift may be applied to diabetes research, children with diabetes, diabetes education….or perhaps simply for general purposes (eg to be used to satisfy the organization’s most urgent need at the time the gift becomes available);
3. Providing contact details of suitably qualified solicitors, where there is no existing family solicitor;
4. Referring you to general information about Will preparation and Estate planning, that is practical, informative and easy to read (usually books and other published information);
5. Providing you with a codicil document format where you may wish to make a simple change to your Will with the aid of a codicil document;
6. Discussing other options for making a gift to a charity (other than via a Will) but which would also only be effective on the day a person passes away; and
7. Supplying information about matters related to estate planning such as the use of different types of Powers of Attorney (ie financial, medical, guardianship, etc). Again, printed documents are available.

We are happy to assist you not only regarding Wills but also in regard to any other support you may wish to give to Diabetes Victoria. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Please Tell Us:

If you have already made a gift in your Will to Diabetes Victoria, or intend to do so shortly, please let us know. You can advise us by contacting our bequest team on 1300 437 386.

You do not need to advise the amount of your bequest (unless you wish to do so) as we already know the value of the average bequest that we receive. We ask that you advise of your bequest for two reasons:

1.  We would like to thank you for your kind and thoughtful decision
2.  It is useful for us to know the total number of expected bequests for long term planning purposes. We have to make some long term operational decisions from time to time and it provides an added level of financial comfort to know the level of support that we can expect from bequests in future years.

Privacy: any advice to us about a bequest shall be held in strictest confidence. We will respect any request for anonymity. We will also not contact you again about the bequest unless we have your consent to do so.

Depending on the type of bequest, specific wording is recommended for clarity.

The following wording is recommended for different types of bequests:

Specific bequest

“I bequeath to Diabetes Victoria for its general purposes (or alternatively for a particular purpose, for example – diabetes research, diabetes education or for the benefit of children with diabetes) the sum of $ ________ (or alternatively describe the bequeathed item(s), for example – antique furniture) free of all duties and taxes including, if any, Capital Gains Tax and the receipt of the Secretary or other authorised officer of Diabetes Victoria for the time being shall be a complete and sufficient discharge for the executor(s).”

A percentage or fractional bequest

“I bequeath to Diabetes Victoria for its general purposes (or alternatively for a particular purpose, for example – diabetes research, diabetes education or for the benefit of children with diabetes),___%, (specify the percentage) of the value of my Estate, free of all duties and taxes including, if any, Capital Gains Tax and the receipt of the Secretary or other authorised officer of Diabetes Victoria for the time being shall be a complete and sufficient discharge for the executor(s).”

A residual bequest

“I bequeath to Diabetes Victoria for its general purposes (or alternatively for a particular purpose, for example – diabetes research, diabetes education or for the benefit of children with diabetes) the residue of my Estate, free of all duties and taxes including, if any, Capital Gains Tax and the receipt of the Secretary or other authorised officer of Diabetes Victoria for the time being shall be a complete and sufficient discharge for the executor(s).”

Tax Status

Diabetes Victoria has the following taxation status as detailed on the Australian Business Register:

Diabetes Victoria is a public benevolent institution for the purposes of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and is endorsed to access the following charity tax concessions: Income Tax Exemption; GST Concession; FBT Exemption.
Diabetes Victoria is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) and is covered by Item I of the table in section 30-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.

Corporate and contact details

Name: Diabetes Victoria
Australian Business Number (ABN): 71 005 239 510
Registered Office: 570 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Helpline: 1300 437 386
Email: bequest@diabetesvic.org.au
Company Type: Australian Public Company
Company Class: Limited by Guarantee

We wish to sincerely thank all persons who have provided a gift in their Will to Diabetes Victoria. Your kind and thoughtful support helps us to provide long term assistance for all people affected by, or at risk of diabetes.

The following is a list of bequests received by Diabetes Victoria from 2015 to 2019:

2019

Nance Elizabeth Creaton   #

Maxwell and Gweneth Digby (1)

Carl Joseph Fackler   #

Austin Webster Gaylard   #

Phyllis Holman   #

Robert Colin Leviston   #

Bruce Leslie Powell   #

Margaret Craig De Vaus

Paul Benedict Edwards

Shirley Gowty

John Graham Holmes

Ian Morris Grant

Vera Lilian Lunney

Robert James Osborne

Brian Patrick Pekin

Susan Faye Richmond

Gloria Isobel Storer

Mary Bernadette Walsh

 

2018

Nance Elizabeth Creaton    #

Maxwell and Gweneth Digby     (1)

Carl Joseph Fackler               #

Austin Webster Gaylard     #

Phyllis Holman                       #

Robert Colin Leviston          #

Bruce Leslie Powell              #

Ronald Edward Andrews

Joan Anne Carter

Vivienne Thelma Cochrane

Alan William Collier

Pauline De Martin

Kevin James De Sair

Marie Olga Hansen

Stanley Bruce Harding

Roger Bramwel Heslop

Kevin Leslie Howard

John Edward King

Ruth Mary Long

Marjorie McArthur

Paul Madigan

Daniel John O'Callaghan

Sophie Pedersen

Theresia Ryan

Alberto Schiavone

Simone Arlette Skewes

Michael James Smith

Doreen Merle Taylor

Betty Catherine Terrell

Lauren Young

Adolf Weber

 

2017

Nance Elizabeth Creaton    #

Maxwell and Gweneth Digby     (1)

Carl Joseph Fackler               #

Austin Webster Gaylard     #

Phyllis Holman                       #

Robert Colin Leviston          #

Bruce Leslie Powell              #

Raymond Ernest Broughton

Judith Elizabeth Clarke

Allan William Collier

Lois Elizabeth Dalziel

Margaret Craig De Vaus

David Howard Griffiths

Sydney William Green

Domenica Maria Grosso

Leslie Thomas Hayes

Phyllis Joy Higgins

Margaret Ruby Holec

Norma Grace Imer

Margaret Jacobs

Keith Trevor Knuckley

Roberta Joan Lonie

Nihal Mahinda Ranasinghe

Alberto Schiavone

Quentin Willis

 

2016

Nance Elizabeth Creaton    #

Maxwell and Gweneth Digby     (1)

Carl Joseph Fackler               #

Austin Webster Gaylard     #

Phyllis Holman                       #

Robert Colin Leviston          #

Bruce Leslie Powell              #

Gustav G H Apituley

Dorothy Edna Arnott

Sarah Auld

Jean Florence Baker

Ian David Bridson

Reginald Clark

Judith Elizabeth Clarke

Jean Elizabeth Goldie

La Fayette Desiree Gooch

Kathleen Anne Habla

Keith Massey

Jean MacKenzie

John Peter Markovich

Maureen McDonald

Carmel Frances McRae

Kathleen Winifred Murphy

Dorothy Alice Nowell                   *

Edith Margarethe Pleysier

Ronald James Potter

John Francis Robbins

Lorna Scala

Reginald George Troeth

 

2015

Nance Elizabeth Creaton    #

Maxwell and Gweneth Digby     (1)

Carl Joseph Fackler               #

Austin Webster Gaylard     #

Bruce Leslie Powell              #

Judith Elizabeth Clarke

Robert Maxwell Graham

Kathleen Anne Habla

Edwin Erasmus Hinde

Estate of Jean Margaret Lake

Laura Viola Muller

Raymond George Reynolds

Daisy Walker

Barbara Kathleen Waters

(1) This annual gift in perpetuity is sourced from The Maxwell and Gweneth Digby Memorial Fund, established by the Will of Gweneth Margaret Digby.
# Annual gift in perpetuity
* Major donation in lieu of bequest

📅 Page last updated: 4 May 2020

We know that not everyone is in a position to leave a bequest to charity. However, we do receive bequests from as little as $200 (to amounts in the hundreds of thousands of dollars). From our perspective, no bequest is too small – all are welcome.

If enough people leave even a comparatively small bequest of a few hundred dollars – the result over time can add up to tens of millions of dollars of additional funding for the benefit of the community (i.e. in terms of support for people affected by diabetes; expansion of diabetes prevention programs; and research to ultimately find a cure for diabetes).

Thank you for considering a gift in your Will to Diabetes Victoria. After providing adequately for your loved ones, we hope that you are able to allocate a portion of your Estate to help reduce the impact and incidence of diabetes… and hopefully, one day find a cure.