‘More than
Memories’
Leaving a legacy to
Princess Alice Hospice
www.pah.org.uk
“I remember...”
‘‘
I will always
be grateful to the
Hospice for keeping
our family together
at a time when we
needed support.
The patience and
understanding
of the team allowed
Mum to come to
terms with her
situation in her
own time.
’’
Nishma, Tadworth
Leave behind
more than memories
by leaving a gift in your Will
Princess Alice Hospice provides free, holistic palliative care for
patients with advanced illness and those approaching the end
of their lives.
We aim to enable all patients to have the best possible quality
of life to the end. Family, carers and close friends have needs
of their own and we provide them with support, comfort and
advice at every stage of illness and after death.
The Hospice is a charity. Over 75% of its work is paid for by
voluntary donations. Without the support of the public we serve,
we could not offer the services we do, for In-patient care as
well as care at home.
Easy to arrange
A gift in your Will is easy to arrange and brings many benefits,
not just for the Hospice but also for your estate, where
charitable gifts can limit Inheritance Tax. A gift means that you
leave behind more than just memories. You leave behind the
means to provide nurses in people’s homes at a time when they
need it most. You help us to keep our ward open and running.
You give the means to provide Day Hospice care. You make it
possible for us to provide Social Work and Bereavement services.
A vital gift, large or small
Legacies play a vital part in providing these services to the
community. Gifts in supporters’ Wills have, for example,
allowed a significant rebuild of the ward within the Hospice.
Yet legacies are not always large. Gifts can be a few hundred
pounds or many thousands. Any gift will make a real difference.
Help us to always be there
Whatever the size of your gift, it means that we can support
whoever comes into our care, along with their loved ones,
with quiet professionalism and calm dignity. It means that
when we are needed, we can always be there.
We are always happy to talk to you to discuss your legacy
and, if you need it, to help you as much as we can with the
technicalities.
2
“I wish...”
‘‘
Princess Alice
Hospice is a very
special place with
wonderful people.
I thought people
were taken there to
die, but once I had
met the staff and
volunteers I knew
that my opinion
had to be
re-examined.
’’
Rose, Chessington
What Princess Alice Hospice
does today
Princess Alice Hospice provides end of life care to over 2,600
patients every year, and supports family members and friends
of those patients. In the last financial year (ending March 2013),
we needed over £8 million, of which 25% came from the NHS, and
the rest from donations, events, our shops and legacies.
Out of every £1 we raised, just 15p was spent on management,
administration and fundraising.
Medical care
Our team of consultants are at the heart of our multi-professional
approach. They aim to relieve pain and other symptoms to enable
patients to have the best possible quality of life. The Hospice is
a centre of excellence for palliative care and our consultants make
a vital contribution to GPs and visiting professionals.
Community care
Our community team of Princess Alice Nurses care for over 800
patients at any one time. Working closely with local healthcare
professionals they provide specialist care management, symptom
control, practical advice and emotional support, seven days a week.
In-patient care
Princess Alice Hospice has 28 beds. In the last stages of illness, we
aim to give patients the best possible quality of life, while providing
carers and families with the support they need.
Day-patient care
Open every week day, the Day Hospice provides therapeutic
care and a range of activities that help patients to manage their
symptoms and regain control of their lives.
Therapeutic care
Our specialist team helps patients maintain their independence
and mobility and manage their own condition. This includes
physiotherapy, occupational therapy and lymphoedema therapy.
Complementary therapies are also offered.
Social and spiritual care
Our social work, chaplaincy and bereavement care team play
a vital role in supporting patients, their carers and families with
psychological, social and spiritual support. Our social workers also
provide advocacy and advice on practical and financial matters.
Education
Our education team is a leading provider of training and education in
palliative and end of life care for health and social care professionals
locally, nationally and internationally. Through education, we hope
to improve end of life care for everyone who needs it.
3
“I wonder...”
‘‘
We aim to enable
all patients to have
the best possible
quality of life to
the end, responding
quickly to their
needs and wishes.
We recognise that
family, close friends
and carers have
needs of their own
and we are here to
provide them with
support, comfort
and advice at every
stage of their illness
and after death.
’’
Nicki Shaw, Chief Executive
What we want to do with your
help: our clear and compelling
strategy for the future
With NHS budgets being squeezed, yet with life expectancy
growing longer, we believe the demands for our services will
increase without a corresponding increase in state funding.
With advances in medical technology, the costs of providing
outstanding service are likely to rise too.
These are challenges we are prepared for. But we will continue
to need the support of our friends and supporters. Below are
some of our visions for the future.
Community care
We’d like to do more to develop care delivered in our patients’ own
homes including rapid response services, urgent overnight care,
regular nursing care, drop-in clinics and a 24-hour support line.
Cutting edge technology
We need to make more use of the latest technology so that we
can make our resources go further and give opportunities for
patients and staff to support each other more effectively.
Making more of In-patient care
We need to ensure that the In-patient unit remains responsive
to patients’ needs, especially those patients who are admitted
at short notice and out of hours. We’d like to do more to support
carers and to make sure they’re more closely involved in their
loved one’s care.
Developing drop-in and the Day Hospice
We want to develop more flexible models for drop-in and Day
Hospice support that reflects the needs of our different patient
groups and their carers.
Improving support for carers
We’ve always recognised the vital role that carers play in
supporting their loved ones. We’d like to do more to support
them with the knowledge and skills that will help them do this
to the best of their ability.
Sharing our expertise
We share our experience with many others, and by doing so,
we learn from others too. We’re keen to support care homes and
nursing homes within our community with education and training
packages. We want to enhance our position as an education
provider continuing and improving our delivery of the European
Certificate in Essential Palliative Care.
4
“I need...”
‘‘
Our teams are
on-call 24/7 to provide
guidance to doctors
and patients facing
difficult decisions and
treatment choices. We
need support now and
in the future to ensure
we can continue caring
when it matters...
’’
Dr Craig Gannon, Medical Director
Things you should know
about making a Will
1 Make a list of your assets. Estimate their
value. You can do this yourself, or ask a solicitor
to help you.
2 Make a list of what you owe. Remember to
include any outstanding mortgage, loans, or bills.
3 Decide who you would like to benefit and how.
Make a list of the people and the organisations
you’d like to benefit, and by how much.
4 Choose your executors and meet your
solicitor. Your executors - usually family
members - will have to make sure your wishes
are carried out after your death.
5 Create a letter of wishes. This will specify
the sort of funeral you want when the time
comes. You can use this to ask for donations
instead of flowers.
What does making a Will
involve? How the team
at Princess Alice Hospice
can help you
Making a Will is not a difficult process. Yet even today, many
people die ‘intestate’, leaving no Will at all. Their estate is
distributed to spouses, children and nearest relatives in a strictly
laid-down sequence, and of course this may not be what they
wanted to happen. In some cases, where relatives cannot be
traced, HM Treasury is entitled to claim (and does) the entire
proceeds after a period of time.
Keeping control
Legally, a Will can simply be a written document stating
how you want your estate distributed after your death.
You can therefore create your own, but most people making a
Will choose to use a solicitor, and we are happy to provide
a list of the names and phone numbers of local firms who
can handle this sort of work. Today, ‘ready-made’ Will kits
are even available from supermarkets and stationers, keeping
the costs down.
The great benefit of making a Will is that you keep control over
how your estate is divided. After satisfying the needs of your
nearest and dearest, many people choose to leave a gift in their
Will to a charity of their own choosing.
‘Pecuniary’ and ‘residuary’
There are two popular ways to leave a gift to a charity, if that’s
what you choose to do. It can be a ‘pecuniary’ gift, where you
specify the precise amount you wish to leave to your chosen
charity or charities. The other gift is ‘residuary’. Here, you leave
what remains after you’ve made the gifts you wish to make.
The advantage here is that your specific wishes are met first,
and only then is a residuary gift made.
6 Keep your Will safe and up to date. Most
people leave a copy of their Will with their
solicitors, and a further copy in a safe place,
ensuring the executors know where to find it.
It’s a good idea to review your Will every five
years, or after major changes in your life such
as marriage or divorce. You can alter your Will
easily with a ‘codicil’ or by making a new Will.
5
“I give...”
‘‘
We are not
rich, we are normal
people and so are
just doing as much
as we can. Our gift
is a way of ensuring
those in the future
who need it, can
have the vital
care and support
that I am so
grateful to receive.
’’
Janet, Ashford
A gift in your Will of as
little as £500 will make
a real difference
Over 75% of the money we need every year comes from
voluntary donations from friends and supporters in the
community. Without this financial support we simply could not
provide care for the 2,600 local people who will need our help.
Of these donations,
legacies have always formed
a significant part. Most people
are surprised at the final value
of their estate, especially
with the rise in house prices
over the past 25 years, and
so many of our legators find
themselves able to make
a more significant gift than
they had imagined they would
be able to make.
Smaller gifts
Over the past few years we
have had some very generous
bequests which allowed us
to re-build and refurbish parts
of the Hospice. But bequests
are not always large. Much
smaller gifts make up the
majority of such donations
and any amount will make
a real difference to the work
we carry out today, and the
work we will need to carry
out tomorrow.
£500
will cover a Community
Princess Alice Nurse’s
home visits for a day
£5,000
will support an average
stay for a patient in our
In-patient unit
£10,000
will pay for 50 patient
visits to the Day Hospice
£20,000
is the daily cost of running
all the Hospice services
£50,000
will support the monthly
cost of our Social Work
and Bereavement
services
It may be that you want to support a specific area of care or
service that we provide. We would be happy to discuss in detail
what initiatives, now or in the future, would benefit from your
support and you will find us creative and flexible in finding ways
to meet your wishes.
6
“I have...”
Wealth Check List
This calculator is for your private and personal
use. You will never be asked to share it with
Princess Alice Hospice.
What’s the approximate
value of your house?
£
Your car?
£
How much are you really
worth?
The rise in house prices over the past few decades has meant
that most people’s main asset is worth substantially more than
they paid for it. If you add up your assets using the calculator
on the left, remembering to deduct any outstanding mortgage,
loans, credit cards and other bills, then the amount at the
bottom gives you a good indication of the total value of
your estate.
Will you pay 40% Inheritance Tax?
Do you have any other valuables
such as works of art or jewellery?
£
Do you have savings – deposit
account, personal pension, ISAs?
£
Remember, inheritance tax may need to be paid on your estate.
In areas such as ours, where house prices are high, the recently
increased ‘threshold’ may still not be enough to leave your
estate exempt.
Are you covered by
life insurance?
£
Where the total value of your estate is more than £325,000
(in 2013-14), your estate will probably need to pay a tax bill
of 40% on the amount above that threshold.
Total Value
£
Do you have an outstanding
mortgage?
£
Do you have other loans
or credit card bills?
£
Are there insurance premiums
to pay?
£
Utility bills that will need
to be cleared on your death?
£
£
Total Deductions
Reducing your estate’s tax bill
You may be able to reduce the tax burden.
Firstly, if you are a married couple or in a civil partnership, then
your executor or personal representative can transfer your
unused tax threshold of £325,000 (rate fixed until 2015)
to your partner on your death, and then your partner when
they pass on can have an increased threshold of as much as
£650,000 (again, in 2013-14).
Secondly, any gifts you leave to a qualifying charity (such as
Princess Alice Hospice) during your lifetime or in your Will, will
be exempt from any inheritance tax, effectively reducing the
cost of a bequest to your estate by 40% if tax is to be paid.
Thirdly, if you leave 10% of your estate to charity, then
inheritance tax due may be paid at a reduced rate of 36%
reducing the cost to your estate of a charitable bequest.
The importance of a Will
The approximate value
of your estate
£
TO FIND OUT THE APPROXIMATE VALUE OF YOUR ESTATE, SUBTRACT
YOUR TOTAL DEDUCTIONS FROM YOUR TOTAL ESTATE VALUE. IF THIS
IS GREATER THAN £325,000 THEN YOU MAY WANT TO THINK ABOUT
WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR INHERITANCE TAX BILL.
A Will is needed to dispose of your estate in a way that is the
most tax efficient. Without a Will, if you live in an area where
house prices have shown a substantial increase over the past
two decades, then your estate may end up paying 40% tax
when much, if not all of that, could have been reduced.
7
‘More than
Memories’
Leaving a legacy to
Princess Alice Hospice
“I want to help.”
Kate from Esher talks about why she is supporting Princess Alice Hospice
with a gift in her Will
‘‘
The Princess Alice Hospice is a very special place.
My husband spent his last days there ten years ago and
while the big things take care of themselves, it’s the little
things that stay with you. It’s the cups of tea at three in the
morning and the time spent with you when you’re not even
aware that you need it. It’s not only the concern and the
compassion, but also the humour and the humanity. And
the respect. And the tenderness. You can’t quantify it, it is
literally priceless but I’m happy to make a contribution, for
’’
myself and Peter. He can’t say ‘thank you’.
Kate, Esher
At Princess Alice Hospice there is a small group of staff supported by volunteers
who have experience dealing with legacies. They will be happy to meet with
you at your home or at the Hospice to discuss the various ways a gift in your
Will can help our work. If appropriate, they can introduce you to other
members of the team, including the Chief Executive.
Please call 01372 461808 or email [email protected]
join us at pahospice
©Princess Alice Hospice 2013. Princess Alice Hospice is a registered charity no. 1010930 and
a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales no. 1599796.
Registered as a US Tax Exempt charity under Section 501 (c) (3) IRC