Leave a Gift in your Will

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When I was diagnosed with MS, there were no treatments available. Nothing. I just had to let the disease run its natural course. Today there are all kinds of drugs that can help. That progress gives me hope that one day researchers will find a cure. I want my gift to play a part in that. – Pearl Champion

If you want to create a future where no person’s choices, freedom, or quality of life are reduced by multiple sclerosis (MS), please consider a gift to MS Australia in your Will.

Medical research has been behind every major improvement in the health of people with MS. It’s resulted in more treatments, better quality of life for more people, and the very real prospect of a cure.

A gift in your Will to MS Australia – the largest Australian non-for-profit dedicated to accelerating Australian MS research and advocacy – will change lives and help end MS.

You’ll build on the breakthroughs and advances already made by investment in MS medical research. You’ll give people living with MS control and choice over their lives.

You will help speed up the pace of research-led breakthroughs so we can:

  • Treat every person living with MS
  • Stop the progress of MS
  • Reverse and give back what people have lost
  • Prevent MS
  • Find a cure

By including MS Australia in your Will, you will build on the progress that medical research has already made, and create a future when MS no longer has power over lives.

Would you like a copy of our Gift in Wills brochure?

Click here to download our Gift in Wills brochure.

Sample language for your Will

We have created a document to assist you and your solicitor should you wish to include MS Australia in your Will. 

Click here to download our sample language for your Will document.

Do you have the correct details?

If you already have included MS Australia in your Will, or you are thinking about doing it soon, it’s important to use the full, correct title of the charity:

MS Australia (ABN: 51 008 515 508)

I was inspired to leave a gift in my Will to MS Australia because if I can make a positive difference to another person with MS, and to the world at large, then my mission is accomplished. Ultimately, I hope we can predict MS before it happens. – Meg McIntyre

It was all I’d ever wanted – ever since I was a kid in kindergarten and the teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up: I said, ‘a mum’. – Lauren Hunt

Your gift will change the lives of people like Lauren and Bailey.

Lauren discovered she had MS when she was only 25.

Lauren’s body did not tolerate treatment very well. Doctors tried one option after the next. Some had distressing side effects, and Lauren became worried her fertility would be affected. She was devastated.

But Lauren was determined MS wouldn’t take away her dream. She made the bold step of starting IVF.

Lauren now has a beautiful baby boy named Bailey. But she’s still living with MS, so uncertainty about her future (and Bailey’s) is a large part of her life.

There is a worrying increase in the number of young women being diagnosed with MS every year. Your gift can help fund research to find new treatments, preventions and a cure for MS – and give them back their choices in life.

You will fuel breakthrough MS research like Steven’s.

MS is personal for researcher, Dr Steven Petratos:

With the support of MS Australia, Steven has made several globally-significant discoveries. He is one of many brilliant Australian scientists working to unlock the secrets of MS.

I have always promised myself that I will never give up investigating the devastating disease that my grandfather lived with for most of his life. – Steven Petratos

Here’s what a gift in your Will – no matter how big or small – will do:

  • Help researchers make the next big breakthrough
  • Provide seed funding for the most innovative scientific ideas
  • Fund clinical trials to save lives now, and pave the way for better treatments in the future
  • Support research into better care for people living with MS
  • Enable worldwide research collaborations that bring benefits back to Australians
  • Provide scholarships to the brightest up-and-coming researchers, with the freshest thinking

Every year, MS Australia receives many excellent MS research applications which we can’t fully fund. Your gift will mean more research will receive full funding – and lead to a cure for MS sooner.

Frequently Asked Questions about leaving a Gift in your Will:

Not at all. If you already have a Will, you simply need to get in touch with your solicitor and include an extra sentence about your gift. If you’d like any help with the wording, or have questions about how to update your Will, we’re happy to help.

Absolutely. Updating your Will to include a gift to MS Australia is quick and inexpensive. We recommend you use a solicitor to do so.

Of course – your family should always be your priority. For that reason, we recommend leaving a ‘residual gift’. This kind of gift is the remainder of your estate (or a percentage of it) after your family has been taken care of and all expenses have been deducted. Many people also choose to leave a percentage of their estate. So, if you leave 1% to MS Australia, your family will still receive the remaining 99%.

Every gift will make a difference, and the amount you choose to leave is completely up to you. If you’d rather not commit to a dollar-amount, you can simply leave a percentage of your estate. Many of our supporters choose to leave 3%.

  1. Use a solicitor to make sure things are exactly as you want them
  2. Include the correct details so your gift goes to:
    Multiple Sclerosis Australia (ABN: 51 008 515 50)
  3. If you are thinking about changing or making a Will now (during the COVID-19 period), many solicitors are available for a telephone or video consultation to get you started

Do you have questions?

Would you like a confidential chat or a free brochure?

Rebecca Stalenberg, our Senior Gift in Wills Coordinator, will be happy to help you.
Call her on 02 9646 0631 during business hours or email giftsinwills@ms.org.au

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Leave a Gift in your Will