What is a bequest?
A bequest is a gift detailed in your Will. It can be as little or as large as you want and not necessarily monetary. By making a bequest, you decide how you would like your generosity allocated.
A bequest can be made in several ways:
- A monetary amount
This is where you specify an amount of money from your estate to go to any individuals, charitable or other organisations.
- The residue of your estate
This is the balance of your estate after you have made provision for your family, friends and any other specific considerations.
- A percentage of your estate
In this way, you nominate a percentage of your estate and not a specific amount.
- Other bequest options
Although bequests are usually expressed in monetary terms, less known but equally valuable are gifts of property, shares and other disposable valuables.
How do you leave a bequest?
We recommend you seek advice from your solicitor on making or updating your Will and on the most appropriate wording for leaving a bequest. In this way you are assured your wishes and intentions are met and that the beneficiary can maximise your generosity.
Here are two examples of suitable wording for bequests:
General bequest
“I give to the Bishop for the time being of the Catholic Diocese of Geraldton (the sum of $...........or……% of my estate) to be used in such manner as he determines and the receipt of an authorised officer of the Diocese shall be sufficient discharge to my Trustee, who shall not be bound to see to the application of this gift.”
Specific bequest
“I give to the Bishop for the time being of theCatholic Diocese of Geraldton (the sum of $...........or……% of my estate) and I express the wish, without creating any trust, that this gift be used for (state your preferred use for the gift),and I declare that the receipt of an authorisedofficer of the Diocese shall be sufficientdischarge to my Trustee, who shall not be boundto see to the application of this gift.”
Making a difference
By making a bequest you can specify to which area of church life you would like to contribute. You can help to carry on our many and varied good works such as formation and care of our Priests, education of Seminarians, support our Ministries to the outback parishes, help conserve the many heritage buildings in our Diocese or you may want to contribute to your local parish — it is entirely up to you.
If you decide to leave a bequest for the good works of the Church, please let us know. A surprise is wonderful, but we would love to get to know you, and recognise your valuable contribution. We also respect that you may rather give anonymously. Either way, if we can be of any assistance please do not hesitate to call us.
More information
For further assistance about leaving a bequest,
call Tricia Rogers on 08 9921 3221
or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give,
not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
2 Corinthians 9:7
Generosity of spirit is what leaving a bequest is all about
and an important part of Living Catholic.
We can all do something within our means
to assist the Church or one of it’s charitable
or pastoral activities.
Would you like to remember
the Diocese of Geraldton in your Will?
If YES -
Catholic Mission Diocesan Director calls for support
Hi Everyone
One of Catholic Mission’s advocacy programs is the work to prevent children from being detained in locked detention facilities. This work is carried out by the End Child Detention Coalition (ECDC) which was founded by Catholic Mission in 2012 and continues to be driven from our Sydney office.
We’re holding a webinar as part of Refugee Week on Thursday 18 June, 4:00pm WA time and we’d love you to be part of it. 
Webinar One: State of Play
We no longer detain children in Australia, right?
Recently we've seen how quickly things can change when there is political will.
As parliament re-opens, it's the right time to begin talking about how we can ensure that legislation supports an end to child immigration detention.
This Refugee Week, we are holding a free, online webinar discussing the current opportunities.
Please Register in advance for this webinar https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_n_aCqRa8TdezKwTQJXQv1A and tune in at 4pm WA time to hear from:
Hayat Akbari, who was detained for over a year as a child and is now an advocate, completing his law degree in Sydney. He is the current Chair of the Youth working group at the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network.
Professor David Isaacs, a paediatrician at the Children's Hospital at Westmead (CHW), Sydney, and Clinical Professor in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Sydney. He is one of several doctors who have worked extensively on Nauru and has first-hand knowledge of the impact of immigration detention on child health and development. David started and has been head of the Health Assessment for Refugee Kids (HARK) Refugee Clinic at CHW since 2004. HARK sees over 400 asylum seeker and refugee children a year.
Alison Battisson, Lawyer and Principal of Human Rights for All, Alison Battisson has represented some of the most notable immigration detention cases held recently in Australia’s high court. She has been a considerable part of ensuring that children should not be in detention, and in this session she analyses why now is a key time.
Catholic Mission Vision Statement
'Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.' Jn 13:34
Catholic Mission shares the dream of our Creator God from before time began, seeing all persons as made in the Creator's image and likeness. All people are gifted with great potential for growth to reach fullness of life and happiness, and are worthy of respect.
Catholic Mission shares the Church's responsibility for a world where all persons, free from any discrimination and free from all barriers to life, can reach their full potential and happiness. This will allow all to live their lives in full dignity, as the Creator God intends.
Info taken from Catholic Mission
Contact: Rosemary Taylor
Diocesan Director of Catholic Mission
PO Box 2044, Geraldton WA 6531
Ph: 08 9964 2716
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.