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.