Including a gift in your Will
Including a gift in your Will to RSPCA Victoria is one of the best ways of making a real difference to animals in need. The deep love you feel for animals can live on and help create a kinder world for animals long after you’ve gone.
You’ll become an enduring and fundamental part of the future we all want, one in which no animal experiences cruelty, abuse or neglect at the hands of human beings. Your support will enable us to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome animals, and give them a second chance in a loving, new family.
Including a gift in your Will is also a meaningful way to honour the love and joy the pets in your life have given you, while helping create a better world for all animals.
Contact us
If you would like more information or wish to discuss in more depth a gift in your Will, please get in touch with Gift in Will Manager Kate Hoelter on phone: (03) 9224 2586 or email: giftsinwills@rspcavic.org.au
How to include a gift in your Will
Including a gift to RSPCA Victoria in your Will is very easy. The next time you are updating or changing your Will, you can simply ask your solicitor or Trustee Company to insert a few simple words into your new Will. Whatever your circumstances, we recommend that you see a solicitor when writing or updating your Will to ensure your wishes will be fulfilled.
There are three main ways to leave a gift in your Will to RSPCA Victoria.
- Percentage Gift – You simply state in your Will what percentage of your estate you would like to give.
- Residual Gift – After family and friends have been taken care of, and all costs have been dealt with, you can make a gift of the remainder or residue of your estate, or a percentage of that residue.
- Specific – You may wish to include a specific dollar amount for your gift, or specific assets such as property or shares.
Many supporters think that it’s easier to leave a percentage of their estate or something from the residue. That way you can look after your loved ones and make a wonderful contribution towards the charities and causes that mean the most to you.
A gift in your Will to RSPCA Victoria, no matter what the amount, will make a positive difference to the lives of animals.
Write your Will today to create a better world for animals
RSPCA Victoria has partnered with online Will writing platforms – Safewill, Willed, and Gathered Here – to help make writing your Will easier and affordable.
In just 20 minutes, you can follow a simple step-by-step guide to write your Will online, ensuring your loved ones and the causes closest to your heart are cared for.
We’d be grateful if you would consider including a bequest to RSPCA Victoria. Gifts in Wills support the care of one in three animals, making a lasting impact on their lives. Your generosity could also help fund shelter upgrades, vital prevention programs, and advocacy efforts to improve animal welfare. Even a small percentage of your estate can make a life-changing difference.
Learn more about Safewill →
Learn more about Willed →
Learn more about Gathered →
“It brings me comfort”
Carole with cat Phoenix
One of Carole’s first memories of a pet’s unconditional love was confiding in her childhood cat Velvet as a four-year-old, after some children were unkind to her. She found Velvet’s gentle purring comforting and so made a promise to her that she would become a vet to help care for animals, as Velvet had cared for her. Carole kept her promise.
Years later as an adult Dr Carole found comfort once again in the company of a special cat, after tragically losing her husband and pets in the Black Saturday fires. She was given a 300-gram kitten found wandering in the ashes to care for. She called him Phoenix, and he gave her a reason and the courage to carry on and they now share a deep bond.
Dr Carole says it brings her comfort to know that through her gift in her Will, she will continue to rescue and protect animals, and help create a kinder world for them.
Suggested Wording For Your Will
If you or your client is passionate about animals and would like to include a gift for an animal charity in their Will, RSPCA Victoria is one of Australia’s leading and most trusted animal charities. Including a gift in Will is a very thoughtful and wonderful way to make a significant and positive impact on the lives of animals.
For solicitors and Will writers
If you’re helping someone to include a gift to RSPCA Victoria in their Will, our suggested wording is below:
“I give to The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Victoria) (“RSPCA”) of 3 Burwood Hwy, Burwood East, Victoria, 3151 (ABN 56 749 449 191):
(a) % of my estate; OR
(b) the residue of my estate; OR
(c) % of the residue of my estate; OR
(d) the of $>amount<
for the general purposes of the RSPCA. I declare the receipt of the RSPCA will be sufficient discharge for my Trustees.”
Pet legacy service
If you’re helping someone to include instructions in their Will for RSPCA Victoria to take care of their pet, our pet legacy service, Home Ever After, may be an option for you to discuss with them. Registering their pets in our Home Ever After program when considering or making their Will, will ensure RSPCA Victoria has all the information needed about their beloved pets to match them with the most suitable loving, new home.
Our suggested wording for including this instruction is below:
“Regarding the future care of my pets, at the time of my passing should there be no member of my family or any of my friends to properly care for my surviving pets, I direct that my Executor give my surviving pets to The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Victoria) (“RSPCA”) on the condition that my pets be found loving new homes under RSPCA Victoria’s pet legacy service, or other equivalent program or policy in place from time to time. I further direct my Executor to arrange for the transportation of my surviving pets from their current residence to an agreed RSPCA site.”
Home Ever After Program
Our beloved pets are much more than our friends, they’re our family, so it’s only natural to worry about what might happen to them when we’re gone or no longer able to care for them. Home Ever After is RSPCA Victoria’s free pet legacy service, making sure your pet continues to have happy life after you’re gone.
