Gifts in wills

Your will is an important document. To ensure that it is legally valid, properly reflects your intentions and is suitable for your circumstances, we recommend contacting a solicitor.

You may wish to use the following wording, in consultation with your solicitor: 

“I give and bequeath to Environmental Defenders Office Ltd,
ABN 72 002 880 864   

1. all of my residuary estate   
   
   Or   
2. _________% of my residuary estate
     
   Or 
   
3. the sum of $_________  

to be used for the general purposes of the organisation, free of all duties and taxes including, if any, Capital Gains Tax (CGT), and declare that the receipt from the CEO or other authorised officer will be sufficient discharge of my executor’s duty.”  

If you have a valid and current Will which, amongst other things, reflects your current marital status, financial circumstances, and testamentary intentions, you can amend it to include a gift to the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) Ltd. You should speak to your solicitor for further advise on amending an existing Will to include a gift to EDO.

In late 2019 EDO restructured all state organisations into one national EDO. The continued operation and charitable purposes are now exclusively carried on by Environmental Defenders Office Ltd ABN 72 002 880 864.  

You may have left a gift in your Will naming one of the state and territory EDO entities which no longer exist. We ask that you review your Will to ensure that the EDO entity is correctly named as Environmental Defenders Office Ltd ABN 72 002 880 864. 

Residuary Gift   A residuary gift is often the best option if you have family to provide for, as it ensures your relatives and friends are looked after first. A residuary gift is the balance of your estate after personal commitments have been made  

Percentage Gift   Leaving a specific percentage of your entire estate or the residue allows you to decide what proportion of your estate you would like to give to EDO, ensuring that inflation will not reduce the value of the bequest  
  
Pecuniary Gift   A pecuniary gift is a fixed sum of money to be left to EDO  

Asset Gift   Asset Gifts include real estate, financial assets such as shares, life insurance, or other items of value  

Trusts and Private Ancillary Funds   If you are the Trustee or Director of a Trust or Private Ancillary Fund (PAF), you might wish to consider making an annual donation to EDO from the Trust or make EDO a beneficiary of the Trust. This will enable your initial donation to go further and provide a sustainable, ongoing gift.  

Having flexible funds is essential for us to be able to respond where the need is greatest. Leaving a bequest for EDO’s general use is the most effective as it means that your gift will be used where it is needed most, enabling EDO to tackle the most pressing environmental challenges of our time.