Frequently Asked Questions

There are many reasons why it’s important to make a Will.

Your Will is your personal legacy to the future of your family, friends and the issues you care about most deeply. It is often described as a reflection of your life, your loves and your values.

Donors often like to express their confidence in an organisation’s mission and vision. Gifts in Wills serve as a special source of strength and sustain an organisation’s financial security for the long term.

One of the joys in life is helping others. You may not have been able to help as much as you would have liked, as you were building your estate or simply meeting daily living expenses. Your Will offers the opportunity to help others long after you have gone.

Some people don’t like to think about their own death and therefore do nothing to prepare for it. However, having a valid and up-to-date Will is important. It is the only way to ensure you have certainty and control over how your estate is managed after you’re gone.

A Will lets you decide how your assets will be distributed on your death. The things you own, be it your own home, a car, investments, your furniture, bank accounts or just a few personal objects, make up your estate and someone must decide what is to happen to them on your death. If you do not make that decision yourself through a Will, then your estate will be distributed following the law. This may or may not result in your estate going to where you would have liked.

If you do not have a Will or your Will has not been updated recently, now is truly the best time to do it. It is simple and doesn’t take much time or money. You never really know what is around the corner and making a Will now will give you piece of mind. You can always update or change your Will at any time. Contact your financial and/or legal advisor, lawyer, or other Will provider today, to have a Will prepared or updated.

If you do not have a solicitor or trustee company or if you have questions, we would be happy to provide you with information about our charitable organisation’s mission and the impact we are making and our future aspirations. We can also direct you to an impartial and qualified financial or legal advisor to help you with your Will. There are also online services available, some of which are at no cost.

Please don’t hesitate to contact our Director of Advancement, Emma Zigan on (+64) 021 0855 0656 to have a chat about making a gift in your Will. You are also very welcome to visit us at Dilworth Trust Board Office, 2 Erin Street, Epsom, Auckland 1051. If doing so, we kindly ask you to call or email in advance to make an appointment.

There are rules as to how a Will should be prepared and properly executed. Failure to comply with these may mean that all or some of your wishes expressed in your Will are unable to be fulfilled.

Once you have decided to make a Will, you will need to name the person that you want as Executor to see that your wishes are carried out. Consider all the items that you own and the debts that you are likely to owe (the net amount is your estate). Then consider how you would like this dealt with on your death—what individuals and/or organisations you want to see benefit from your estate.

You need to remember that if you do not make adequate provision for relatives and dependents, they may apply to the court for greater benefits from your estate. A legal advisor, lawyer or Will provider can advise you on this. You may also leave instructions on such matters as what you want done with your body (i.e.: cremation/burial) and your funeral service.

You can change your Will at any time and from time to time your Will may need to be reviewed. As time passes, circumstances change—family members may be added or lost, your financial situation changes and your ideas as to who you want to see benefit from your estate may change.

You do not need to change your entire Will. If you wish to add a clause (for instance to name an organisation such as Dilworth as one of your beneficiaries), you need only add a codicil, (a small change or addition made to an existing Will).

Everyone is different, and so are their circumstances, so it’s important that the gift you leave is right for you. If you decide to leave a gift in your Will to Dilworth some examples of the options available to you are:

You can give a specific amount of money or a percentage of your estate to the Dilworth Trust. This type of gift, sometimes called a pecuniary gift, allows you to nominate a specific amount of money or percentage to give Dilworth Trust Board.

You can leave the residue of your estate after specific items and/or monetary gifts (if any) have been given. Here you make a gift to Dilworth Trust Board of what is left over (or a percentage of what’s left over) in your estate after all expenses and debts have been settled and your loved ones have been provided for.
NOTE: A residuary gift is one of the best types of donations, because it maintains the relative value of your gift and automatically adjusts to changes in the value of your estate. This is the type of gift we ask our supporters to consider, because it upholds the intended value of the gift over time.

You can leave a particular item or items such as property, land, works of art, jewellery, shares etc. It needs to be specifically named in your Will and given to Dilworth Trust Board.

You can make a gift to take effect after the death of your spouse—your spouse would have your estate for as long as he/she lived, then the indicated portion would revert to Dilworth Trust Board.

You can make a gift through a perpetual trust that will provide ongoing financial support.

You can gift a life insurance policy on your own life or on the life of another nominated person, with Dilworth Trust Board nominated as the sole beneficiary. Alternatively, you could make the bonuses of your life insurance policy payable to Dilworth Trust Board.

Many people and their families look for ways to show their gratitude to Dilworth, the school that gave them or their son an excellent wrap-around education and such an outstanding gift of opportunity.

Giving in thanks is a special way to show gratitude for a life well lived. If you or your son has benefitted from a Dilworth scholarship, you’ll have experienced the incredible care and generosity of Dilworth Trust Board first-hand. Making a gift to us in your Will, ensures we can continue the support and give even better care and education to the next generation of Dilworthians.

There are also times when people wish to honour, celebrate, or memorialise the life of a member of their family, or someone who has died or been important to them. A gift in a Will can be a wonderful way to remember, celebrate or memorialise a loved one or someone you respect. Talk to us about the many ways we can help to arrange these types of recognition gifts in Wills, so the memory of them and their life will prevail.

If you have chosen to include Dilworth in your Will, we kindly ask you to let us know you have done so. We will always follow your instructions on how you wish to be recognised, maintaining confidentiality at all times and if requested, anonymity.

We do not need to know specific details (if you prefer), however, we would be eternally grateful to know you have left a gift in your Will. We would love to thank you personally and want you to feel appreciated and part of what we are doing. Every person who makes a gift in their Will to Dilworth automatically becomes part of The James & Isabella Legacy Circle.

As soon as you make or pledge a gift to Dilworth in your Will, and notify us that you have done so, we’ll welcome you into The James & Isabella Legacy Circle - a special group of like-minded legacy supporters.

Being part of the Legacy Circle means we can share and show our gratitude with you during your lifetime. You will be given a special pin and certificate, receive invitations to special events and be sent important communications to keep you informed of our activities and the impact philanthropy makes on our students, school and entire community.

If you have already made a gift in your Will (one that we are unaware of), or you are considering leaving one, please do let us know. It will allow us the privilege of showing our appreciation and keeping you informed of the impact we are achieving with the support of generous people like yourself.

An easy way to inform us is to simple contact our Director of Advancement, Emma Zigan on (+64) 021 0855 0656, or email e.zigan@dilworth.org.nz. We’d love to hear from you.

Choosing to remember Dilworth with a gift in your Will is quite simple and can be accomplished in 1, 2, or 3 easy steps:

1. Call or email Dilworth Advancement to discuss leaving a gift in your Will and ask any questions you may have. (this first step is optional)
2. Make contact in person or via an online service with a legal advisor, lawyer or Will provider and ask them to: a) make a Will (if you do not already have one) or
   b) make an amendment in your existing Will.
   Provide them the “Will wording” from our website with details of your gift. (The Will wording can be copied and pasted and sent via email, or simply dictated over the phone. You may of course take guidance for the wording from your own legal advisor)
3. Once the process is complete, please let us know when you have received your new or updated Will with the inclusion of your gift to Dilworth Trust Board. (this last step is optional but recommended)

A gift in your Will to Dilworth Trust Board goes on giving forever. And you can be assured that we will be careful stewards of your generosity. We thank you in advance for your everlasting support. 

A Will is personal, however we are always available to discuss your wishes and intentions if you would like. While including a gift to Dilworth Trust Board is a simple process, we thoroughly recommend you consult your legal and financial advisors in the drafting or changing of any Will.

Here is some suggested ‘Will wording’ to ensure your wishes are carried out: 

“I give to Dilworth Trust Board, a charitable trust registered with the New Zealand Charities Commission (CC32171),
________________________ (state a specific percentage) of my estate
Or ______________________ (state a specific percentage) of the residue of my estate
Or $ _____________________ (state a specific dollar amount)
Or ______________________ (describe precisely an item of property, shares or assets you wish to gift) 
free from all duties and charges, as a contribution to the Dilworth Trust Board to be applied to the support, education and care of its students, for which the receipt of the Dilworth Trust Board shall be sufficient discharge to my trustees.”

You may specify a particular purpose or named scholarship, however, we encourage you to allow the Trust Board to apply your gift to the greatest needs for student support, education and care at the time, as outlined in the Will wording template above. It is possible however, if you have some specific intentions for your gift, for us to draw up a “Statement of Intentions” which instructs the Dilworth Trust Board in exactly how you would like your gift to be used. This process would be a collaborative effort between you and Dilworth Advancement. We want you to realise your philanthropic ambitions and balance it with delivering the outstanding educational programmes and wrap-around services as part of our 100% scholarships.