Gifts in Wills
Gifts in Wills fund 1 in 4 of our emergency missions. These incredible gifts give future generations the best chance of survival; the best chance for going on to live a fulfilling life.
Why Gifts in Wills matter
Your gift will send a highly skilled medical crew to a patient’s side in the quickest time possible. Armed with state-of-the art equipment, our crews can deliver advanced life-saving care on-scene, giving the patient the best chance of recovery. This critical care continues while we transfer the patient, in record time, to the most appropriate hospital for further treatment.
Thanks to people like you we can help change the course of even more people’s lives by being able to rapidly respond, night or day, to emergencies throughout the region.
Together we save lives
Download your free guide about leaving a gift
To find out how you can help save lives with a gift in your Will, download our free information pack. It not only includes practical information to help you include a gift to EAAA in your Will, but also shows you the amazing impact gifts like yours make on patients’ lives.
Download here
Write your Will for free
Make sure your final wishes and your loved ones are well looked after by writing your Will using our Free Will Scheme, which allows anyone over 18 to write or update a basic Will for free. You can write your Will online or face-to-face with a solicitor – the choice is yours.
If you have already written your Will and would like to change it to include a gift for EAAA, you can do this simply by completing a Codicil form.
Find your scheme
Their story, your legacy
Many of our supporters have chosen to make a lasting gift, by remembering EAAA in their Will. Some of our patients have decided to share their story to show how thankful they are to those who have given them the gift of life.
Read Steve's Story
Why i'm leaving a lasting gift to EAAA in my Will
“When I was a nurse at the West Norwich Hospital, I saw for myself the critical difference that the paramedics and doctors on the East Anglian Air Ambulance could make to people’s lives. That’s why I have decided to support them with a gift in my Will. Because, when someone has had a life-threatening accident or a medical emergency, the crew can be with them in minutes, with state-of-the-art equipment and expert treatment – not just to stabilise them but to give them life-saving care right at the scene.”
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We cover an area with busy roads, popular coastal resorts, and remote rural locations - all of which increase the demand on our services. We work tirelessly to enable positive outcomes from those who need critical treatment. Leaving a gift in your Will could make a life-saving difference for a future patient.
After you have looked after your family and friends, please consider leaving a gift in your Will to the East Anglian Air Ambulance so we can continue to give people the best possible health outcomes in an emergency. A gift of any size will help to give those who may need us in the future, the gift of life.
If you have already made the decision to include EAAA in your Will, thank you, you have done something really amazing!
Our Promise
If you are considering leaving a gift of life in your Will, we promise you this:
- Your gift will be used to help save lives across East Anglia We value any gift, large or small.
- We will respect your privacy and deal with your enquiry with professionalism and sensitivity.
- You can change your mind about your gift to EAAA at any point.
- We respect that your loved ones come first.
- You can visit one of our bases to see first-hand how your money will be used - just let us know.
Useful Information
Download our information pack, this should answer all your questions about leaving a gift in your Will to EAAA.
Alternatively, give us a call on 03450 669 999 or email our Gifts in Wills Manager, Lucy Day, who would be happy to help.
You may also find the information contained in these three webinars useful. Developed in partnership with Ashtons Legal, they are designed to help you plan as best you can for the future and protect the people and causes you care about most.
This factsheet has been prepared by Institute of Legacy Management (2022). We hope it will provide you with valuable information to guide you through the process.
The role you have been given as an executor is a huge responsibility and it can seem overwhelming, especially during this difficult and emotional time. We really appreciate your support. Without your valuable help, vital charity work simply wouldn’t be possible.
Pulling together all the relevant documents can seem complicated but you are not alone. The ILM has put together two handy factsheets to help you understand what information charities may need from you, and why they need it.
If the will specifies that the charity should receive a gift of a fixed sum of money, then the process is very straightforward, and you can simply get in touch with the relevant charity and make payment whenever you are ready to do so. They will send you a receipt and a letter of thanks. Please make sure that you contact the team that deals with gifts in wills before you make payment, because only that team can give you a valid receipt for the legacy.
Please do not make payment over the charity’s website or hand a cheque into a shop or to a local fundraiser. Our members are required to account specifically for legacies, and they may not be able to do so if payment has been made to another part of their organisation.
If the will specifies that the charity should receive a share of the estate, or a more complicated gift, and you would like some assistance, please read on.
Probate agents
The government licenses a firm of Probate Agents to inform charities if they have been left a gift in a will. This system has been in place since the 19th century and explains why the charity may have contacted you before you have had a chance to contact them. It isn’t widely known, but once a Will has gone through Probate it is a public document, and anyone can view the contents by paying a small fee on the .gov website. Many charities will purchase every will that contains a gift to them to satisfy their auditors that they are receiving every gift that they should.
Instructing solicitors
Acting as an executor can be an onerous task, and it is perfectly possible for you to instruct a solicitor to deal with aspects of administration that you are finding difficult or excessively time consuming without being required to hand the whole process over to them.
Why is the charity asking for such specific information?
Firstly, it’s important to understand that although it can seem as though charities are asking you for a lot of detailed information, they are not trying to be difficult but are simply subject to strict legal and accounting regulations which they must comply with.
Gifts in wills, particularly a share of the estate (also known as a residuary legacy, because it is a share of what is left in the estate once debts etc are paid, hence the ‘residue’) are also a vital income stream for charities so it’s important for them to be able to estimate the value of each gift for long-term project planning.
Responsibilities – who is responsible for what?
It can be hard to know who is responsible for what. Below is a list of the key responsibilities held by Executors, Charities and Auditors:
- Executors - Executors are responsible for distributing the estate as detailed in the will and need to produce a full account as set out in the Administration of Estates Act 1925.
- Charities - Charities need to provide you with a receipt and, where appropriate, an indemnity. They also need to confirm bank details for payment. They need to account for legacies in accordance with the SORP (see glossary below) and provide evidence to support their method.
- Auditors - The charities Auditors must confirm that legacy income has been accounted for correctly and that the amounts shown on their accounts and received are correct. They pay particular attention to gifts in wills because it is such a large income stream for some charities.
Documents you may be asked for
We’ve put together a useful checklist which outlines the documents a charity should hold and where these can be sourced from, should you be asked for them.
The checklist is divided into three categories: Essential Documents, Documents to provide if possible, and Documents that may be required dependent upon circumstances.
You can read more about these categories in the glossary in the next section, and can see a full list of required documents in the document checklist factsheet in the Guidance for Executors section on the ILM’s website.
Our members and charities work together very closely in this area, so to save you time we recommend you contact one of the charities named in the will and ask them to act as a ‘postbox’, distributing correspondence to the other charities. This is known as the ‘Lead Charity’ system.
Essential Documents
Failure to hold these documents may result in the file being questioned by auditors.
Documents to provide if possible
We advise our members to hold these documents in their files but this is not a legal requirement and it shouldn’t result in the file failing audit. Please do not worry if you cannot access these documents easily.
Documents that may be required dependent upon circumstances
You will only be asked to source these documents if they are relevant to the circumstances of the gift.
Lead Charity System
You can ask one of the charities named in the will to act as a ‘postbox’, distributing correspondence to the other charities and gathering responses to any queries you have.
Residuary Legacy
What remains to be given out from an estate after all debts, taxes and other legacies have been paid. Also known as a share of the estate.
The SORP
The accounting regulatory framework that governs charities. It recommends that charities (especially larger charities) show legacy income on their balance sheets as soon as possible so they can understand the value of the legacy to the charity.
We are a registered charity in England and Wales Our Registered Charity Number is: 1083876.
East Anglian Air Ambulance
Helimed House
Hangar 14
Norwich Airport
Gambling Close,
Norwich
NR6 6E
03450 669 999
info@eaaa.org.uk
If you decide to leave a gift in memory of a loved one we have a dedicated In Memory giving team available to help. Find out more here.
Why is it necessary to make a Will?
Making a Will is the only way to make sure that your wishes will be respected and that your family and friends are taken care of. Without a Will, loved ones can be left in a difficult position so it’s best to make your intentions clear.
Find out more
How do I include a gift in my Will?
We have produced a booklet to provide you with all the information you need to know about leaving a gift in your will, including FAQs and more information about East Anglian Air Ambulance.
Read more information
Have a chat with us
If you'd like more information about how a legacy could help fund our service or to simply to find out more information about gifts in wills please get in touch with Lucy Day or a member of our development team on 03450 669 999.
Email the EAAA teamFree Wills Scheme
Write or update your Will for free using one of EAAA’s free Will writing schemes – offering you the chance to update your Will online or by visiting a solicitor.
Request a free willMeet Carl Atkins
In September 2003 Carl Atkins was knocked off his motorbike and run over by a bus in Old Buckenham, leaving him seriously injured. EAAA was tasked to attend the scene by helicopter. Carl has seen first-hand the work that we do, and has chosen to leave a gift to EAAA in his will in the hope that this could help someone just like him.
Read Carl's story