Let Your Magic Live on. Leave a Gift in Your Will.
‘Alder Hey wouldn’t be where it is today without the support of the charity and it won’t be here in the future without further charity support.’
Nathan Askew, Chief Nurse
Hello, I’m Megan.
As part of the Fundraising Team at Alder Hey, I’m lucky to meet so many of our amazing supporters. One question I hear a lot is, ‘What is the best way I can help?’. The truth is, there are several different ways people can make a real difference to the incredible care that children and young people receive here at Alder Hey.
A gift in a Will is one of the easiest and most effective ways for someone to support us. We understand that making or changing a Will is not something to be taken lightly. So, if you would like to discuss the options most suitable for you, please get in touch – I would be happy to arrange an appointment. Call me on 01519 530177 for an informal chat or you can email me on Megan.Innocent@alderhey.nhs.uk.
Thank you very much for taking the time to consider this important matter. We are so very grateful.
Megan Legacy Fundraiser
Our Promise to You!
We recognise that any gift you leave in your Will to Alder Hey Children’s Charity is special and that’s why we make the following promises. We…
• Promise to use your gift wisely.
• Recognise that those closest to you come first.
• Realise you might want your gift used in a special way.
• Understand that you might have to change your mind due to a change in personal circumstances.
• Won’t put pressure on you to leave a gift in your Will.
• We will treat you and your next of kin sensitively, with respect and gratitude.
‘We go to work to make things better for children and that’s what everyone in Alder Hey is like, there’s a special mindset that I’ve never seen anywhere else.’
Ian Sinha, Respiratory
Consultant
Gifts in Wills are Essential
For over thirty years, Alder Hey Children’s Charity has been raising funds to give the children and young people under the care of Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool an exceptional care experience in a world-class setting. Seeing over 450,000 patients every year, it is one of the busiest hospitals in the UK.
As an NHS charity, 100% of the funds we raise for the hospital come entirely from donations, grants, fundraised income and gifts in Wills. In fact, gifts in Wills account for 12.5p out of every £1 we raise.
The decision to leave these extraordinarily magic gifts, often made many years prior, allows us to support in the development of crucial new treatments, fund state-of-the-art medical equipment and create magic in the wards, raising a child or young person’s experience from standard to exceptional.
The kind gifts we receive in Wills are a crucial part of our funding – without them, we simply could not continue. A thoughtful act today will help secure the future of Alder Hey for the next generation of children and young people.
‘There’s nothing like the hug you get from an Alder Hey nurse.’
Iain Hennessey, Consultant Surgeon & Clinical Director of Innovation
‘I’m so proud of what Mum left behind.’
Audrey’s Magic Gift
When I was just a toddler, I was admitted to Alder Hey and they successfully helped me to overcome a minor health issue. That would have been Mum’s first interaction and real experience of Alder Hey. Looking back now, it must have been a worry for her to have her daughter in hospital at such a young age. But she had nothing but praise for the exceptional kindness and care we received there.
Years later, Alder Hey touched our lives again. Madog, the son of a close family friend of ours, was diagnosed with Leukaemia when he was just two. I know Mum was really worried for him, as we all were. Thankfully, following his treatment at Alder Hey, Madog is doing well and is a thriving teenager who need only attend the hospital for check-ups twice a year.
My mother really was a remarkable person, much missed by me and so many others whose lives she touched. She thought carefully about the gift she wanted to leave behind in her Will to Alder Hey Children’s Charity. She wanted to acknowledge the role played by the clinicians in helping not only our family but also in their support of Madog and his family too. It’s also a comfort for me to know that thoughtfulness will be helping other young people and children in need for years to come.
Elizabeth, Audrey’s daughter
Audrey and her husband on their honeymoon in
1946.
A Gift in Your Will
Helps to Create Countless Magical Moments
A pecuniary gift of £20,000 was left by one of our committed, long-term supporters.
£4,640 was used to help fund Young Makers: a ward-based artist residencies exploring contemporary craft, printmaking, willow weaving, glass design and paper sculptures.
Here are some of the ways we used this generous gift:
£8,250 was put towards a month of our MediCinema, covering nursing care, cinema staff and operational costs.
£3,560 was spent funding live music performances, dance and arts activities in our Atrium.
£2,942 was spent on a month of holistic therapy at the Alder Centre, offering services such as Reiki, aromatherapy and reflexology, helping our families process their emotions and cope with childhood loss.
£250 was spent on a day of art practitioners on our wards, like our resident magician.
‘The hospital itself is an incredible building, but it’s the atmosphere – the people are what make it.’
Iain
Hennessey,
Consultant Surgeon & Clinical Director of Innovation
Rebecca’s Magic Gift
My Tommy was just a baby when he was rushed by ambulance to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. He’d been unwell with diarrhoea during the night – I assumed it was a virus. But it was when his little body became all hot and he started to have trouble breathing that I called 999.
Not long after arriving at the hospital, I was told that Tommy had bacterial meningitis and sepsis. I can’t tell you how I felt, I don’t even like thinking back to that moment. But I do know it was the worse news I’d ever had, and I was so scared for Tommy.
Thankfully, because Tommy had got to the hospital quickly and the specialists were so brilliant at giving him the right treatment, they were able to protect his brain from the meningitis and he began to respond well to the medication.
Alder Hey saved my son’s life, and I’ll never stop telling anyone who’ll listen just how wonderful everyone is there – all of the doctors, nurses and staff showed us such compassion and kindness. The amazing nurses on 4B got me through it, they even bought me a card for my birthday as I spent it on the ward next to Tommy.
That’s why I’ve pledged to leave a gift in my Will to Alder Hey Children’s Charity. It costs me nothing now and yet I know in the future it will help make the most difficult of times in other families’ lives easier. If mine and Tommy’s story inspires just one other person to make a pledge too, I’ll be happy.
Rebecca, Tommy’s Mum
Baby Tommy at Alder Hey and Tommy as a happy, healthy two-year old.
‘Alder Hey made the most difficult time in my son’s life more bearable.’
Making a Will Protects You and Your Loved Ones
A Will is a vital document for you, ensuring that those you care about are provided for after your death. Without a valid Will, the specific wishes you may have for your family or loved ones may not be carried out as you would wish. The final value of your estate after tax can often be significantly reduced.*
*Alder Hey Children’s Charity is not a financial advisor. Please seek legal and financial advice about tax implications that are personal to you.
If you have not yet made a Will, it is strongly recommended that you do so. It is a simple process that most solicitors will be able to assist with. The Law Society offers a free ‘Find a local Solicitor’ service which can be found at The Law Society’s website, www.lawsociety.org.uk – or by calling 020 7320 5650.
Write Your Will For Free!
To help you with writing your Will, Alder Hey Children’s Charity offers a Free Will Service. Through this service you can make or update your Will for free online, over the phone or face-to-face with a solicitor. To use our Free Will Service or to find out more, please visit our website www.alderheycharity.org/how-you-can-help/gifts-in-wills.
‘We call it the Alder Hey way of going above and beyond.’
Benedetta Pettorini,
Consultant Paediatric Neurosurgeon/Director of Surgery
The Different Types of Gift You Can Leave in Your
Will
There are several kinds of gifts you can leave. Each gift is special to us and ensures that we’re able to provide the very best care and support to the patients and families who need us, today and into the future.
A cash (or
‘pecuniary’)
gift
This is when you choose to leave a single, defined cash gift from your estate.
A specific gift
This type of gift is usually something like property or an individual valuable item, such as an antique or piece of jewellery.
A life interest
If you wish, you can leave a gift for use over a specific period, for example, the income from an investment. After that time has passed, the gift can then be passed on to another recipient or family member.
A share of your estate (or ‘residuary’) gift
After you’ve provided for your loved ones and taxes have been paid, you could choose to leave a share, or the full remainder (the residue) of your estate, to Alder Hey Children’s Charity. This means that you can pass on your estate to those you care about according to your wishes, and make a difference to the lives of children in the future.
Inheritance Tax
Each individual has a tax-free allowance of £325,000 before Inheritance Tax at 40% becomes due. Leaving your family home directly to your descendants raises this allowance to £500,000 (correct as of July 2025). All gifts to charities such as Alder Hey Children’s Charity are deducted from the value of the estate before Inheritance Tax is calculated – and thus can reduce the total amount of Inheritance Tax due. Leaving more than 10% of the value of your estate to charity can also reduce the taxable rate to 36% on the remainder of your estate.
For more information, please speak to your solicitor or visit the HMRC website: www.hmrc.gov.uk/inheritancetax
Suggested Wording to Help You Make Your Gift to Alder Hey Children’s Charity
We strongly recommend using a specialist solicitor or Will-writing expert to help create or amend your Will. They can advise and support you to ensure that your estate is distributed exactly according to your wishes and on how to minimise the impact of Inheritance Tax. If you do decide to leave a gift in your Will to Alder Hey Children’s Charity, you will need to provide clear and unambiguous instruction to your executors. Here is some wording we recommend you discuss with your solicitor:
For a residuary legacy
‘I give all / a fraction / a percentage of the residue of my estate absolutely to Alder Hey Children’s Charity, Eaton Road, Liverpool L12 2AP, Registered Charity Number 1160611, to be applied by Alder Hey Children’s Charity for its charitable purposes, and I further direct that the receipt of the Hon. Treasurer or any other proper officer of Alder Hey Children’s Charity, for the time being, shall be sufficient discharge to my trustees.’
For a pecuniary legacy
‘I give to Alder Hey Children’s Charity, Eaton Road, Liverpool L12 2AP, Registered Charity Number 1160661, absolutely, the sum of (amount in figures, amount in words) to be applied by Alder Hey Children’s Charity for its charitable purposes, and I further direct that the receipt of the Hon. Treasurer or any other proper officer of Alder Hey Children’s Charity, for the time being, shall be sufficient discharge to my trustees.’
A Glossary of Common Terms
Estate
The property, including money, owned by the deceased, after any debts and/or expenses have been taken into account.
Beneficiaries
People or organisations – for example, a charity – who benefit from a Will.
Executors
Person(s) appointed in a Will by the testator to deal with the estate after his/her death.
Guardian(s)
Person(s) appointed in a Will by the testator to look after his/her children, if there is no-one else with parental responsibility to do so.
Residuary gift
A share of the estate (i.e. percentage) allocated in the Will by the testator.
Pecuniary gift
A single, defined cash gift from your estate.
A specific gift
An individual valuable item, such as an antique or piece of jewellery.
Testator
A person who has made a Will or given a legacy.
‘Alder
Hey is a really special place. The quality of care and the quality of the experience children receive is unrivalled. We ensure children and young people have the best possible care, the best possible experience.’
Vicky Charnock, Arts Manager
To learn more about gifts in Wills, simple scan the QR code.
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‘Children are the most important thing in the world.’
Ian Sinha, Respiratory Consultant
T: 0151 252 5716
legacies@alderhey.nhs.uk
Alder Hey Children’s Charity, Eaton Road, Liverpool L12 2AP
To learn more about gifts in Wills, simple scan the QR code.
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Registered Charity in England and Wales number: 1160661.
