Naming Taralye in your Will is a powerful yet simple act of generosity.

It provides a gift for the future, a legacy to be used to improve the educational, linguistic and social outcomes of deaf and hearing impaired children during their important early development years and is something that will stay with them for life.

For some people, giving through their Will is often the only time they can make a significant gift to an organisation which has helped them or their families throughout their lives.

So whether you are a parent, grandparent, relative or family friend of someone who has benefited from the medical and educational services provided to deaf children by Taralye, or just an admirer of its programs, there are certainly many ways you can help.

You can include Taralye in your Will in the following ways:

• a general purpose bequest to be used by Taralye in an area of most need at the time
• a specific purpose bequest that decides which of Taralye’s services or programs are to receive your support and how
• an endowment fund, named in your honour, where the capital value of your bequest is invested and the interest it earns is used for specific or general purposes by Taralye.

 

If you would like to leave a bequest, there are a number of ways you can do this and the following provides the options available:

• a specific dollar amount
• a specific percentage of your Estate
• the residual or your estate or a % of the residual (after your other bequests have been distributed)
• real estate, shares, art and /or other capital assets
• Life insurance policies or annuities

 

Bequest Wording

In order to ensure that you have the correct wording, it is important to seek the advice of an expert, such as a solicitor or trustee company, to assist you to draw up your Will.

The following however is some suggested wording:

If you wish to leave a share of your Estate or your entire Estate

I …………… bequeath to The Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing (Vic ) “Taralye”, …… % of my Estate, free of all duties, for which the written acknowledgement of the Chief Executive Officer shall be sufficient discharge.

If the Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing (Vic), “Taralye” ceases to exist, this legacy shall not fail but my executors shall pay it to the charitable organisation which they consider most nearly fulfils the object I intend to benefit.

If you wish to leave a specific sum

Insert “the sum of” (being the amount you wish to leave)

If you wish to leave a specific bequest

Insert the address of the property, details of the shares, life insurance policies, bank accounts or other assets

If you wish to leave a remaining residual amount

After specific bequest are written, insert “the residue of my estate “or the % of the residue of my estate. (i.e. 50%)

If you wish to leave a bequest for a specific purpose (i.e. early learning program, research project etc.)

Insert the words “to be used of the purposes of “(state the purpose, program or service to benefit)

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on Death Duties

The comments provided below are a general guide and should not to be taken as advice. You should seek specific advice based on your particular circumstances to make an informed decision in regards to your bequest.

Avoid “the new death duties”

Death duties have been abolished in Australia yet there is a tax on many deceased estates which reduces the amount payable to your beneficiaries. You may be able to prevent it affecting your estate’s charitable bequests.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) applies to most realized gains on assets other than your owner-occupied residence, if you acquired them after 19 September 1985. You should contact your financial adviser for more information.

If you bequeath assets like shares – those that would otherwise have been subject to CGT -- to Taralye, your estate should not have to pay CGT. That’s because Taralye is exempt from income tax and it is a Deductible Gift Recipient. Leaving those assets in your general estate potentially exposes them to CGT when they are sold by your executor or your beneficiaries.

Alternatively, you could make a donation to Taralye during your lifetime and claim a tax deduction. You should note however that if the gift is of assets like shares, rather than cash, you might also make a capital gain. This issue does not arise if you make a bequest under your will.

For more information

If you would like to make further enquiries about recognising Taralye in your Will, please phone (03) 9877 1300 and ask to speak to a member of our Development team. They will be pleased to discuss your gift intentions with you and provide you with any additional information you may need.

We applaud your generosity and foresight and thank you for supporting Taralye in its efforts to get deaf kids talking.