Leave a gift in your will to Mercy Ships

Ships are refitted, crews are recruited and field services are agreed years in advance. Legacy gifts are what fund that horizon.

Why legacy gifts matter to a hospital ship

A hospital ship has a working life measured in decades. Keeping one at sea means major maintenance, dry dockings, equipment renewal and crew recruitment planned far ahead of the year in which the money is spent.

Gifts left in wills tend to arrive as larger sums and are often what makes long-horizon commitments financially responsible.

Your family comes first

A will should provide for the people who depend on you before it provides for anything else. Charitable gifts are usually written as a share of what remains after that, or as a specific sum, and either is entirely normal.

Nobody at Mercy Ships needs to know the amount, and no one will ask.

The three usual forms of gift

A residuary gift leaves a percentage of what remains after debts, taxes and everything you have left to family and friends. It holds its value over time, which matters if you write your will decades before it takes effect.

A pecuniary gift leaves a fixed sum. It is simple, but inflation erodes it, so some people index it or review it periodically.

A specific gift leaves a named asset - property, shares, an item of value. Worth discussing carefully with a solicitor, since assets change hands during a lifetime.

Restricted or unrestricted

You can direct a gift to a particular part of the work. Most people leave theirs unrestricted, and that is genuinely the most useful, because it can be applied wherever need is greatest in the year it arrives - which may be a long time from now.

Practical points to discuss with a solicitor

Which Mercy Ships entity you wish to name, and its correct registered name and registration number in your country. The form the gift takes. Whether you want it directed or unrestricted. And whether adding a gift means writing a new will or a simple codicil to an existing one.

This is not legal or financial advice

Wills, inheritance tax and estate rules differ substantially between countries, and a badly worded clause can fail entirely. Speak to a qualified solicitor or notary in your own jurisdiction before making or changing a will.

Telling us, or not

You are under no obligation to tell Mercy Ships that you have included a gift. Some people prefer to, so that we can thank them and keep them informed about the work while they are alive to hear about it. Either is entirely welcome, and telling us changes nothing about your freedom to change your mind later.

If you have been named as an executor

If you are administering an estate that includes a gift to Mercy Ships, the office in the country named in the will can tell you what they need and who to speak to. It is usually more straightforward than executors expect.

Questions about leaving a gift in your will

Do I have to leave a large amount?

No. A small percentage of an estate, left by many people, is what makes legacy income meaningful. There is no threshold below which a gift is not worth making.

Do I need to write a new will?

Often not. In many countries an existing will can be amended with a codicil, which is quicker and cheaper than rewriting it. Your solicitor or notary will advise which applies where you live.

Can I change my mind later?

Always. A will can be changed at any time while you are alive, and telling us about a gift creates no obligation whatsoever. Circumstances change, and nobody should feel locked in.

Which Mercy Ships entity should be named?

This depends on where you live, because Mercy Ships is registered separately in a number of countries. Naming the wrong entity can create tax consequences or delay. Ask the office in your country for the exact registered name and number to use.

Will a gift in my will reduce inheritance tax?

In some countries charitable gifts are treated favourably for inheritance tax, and in others they are not. It depends entirely on your jurisdiction, and it is a question for your solicitor or tax adviser rather than for us.

Can I say what my gift should be used for?

You can, though unrestricted gifts are the most useful. A will may take effect many years after it is written, and a restriction that made sense then may not match where the need is greatest when the gift arrives.