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Making a Will

Making a Will

Pg 5 Legacy photograph
Prep 6 b

A life-changing legacy

Gifts in Wills fund more than a third of our life-saving care and support services, as well as our research and other prevention work, such as community health checks and educational talks.

In Northern Ireland almost half of all adult deaths are caused by chest, heart or stroke illnesses. It’s therefore crucial that we can continue caring for people with these conditions and look for ways to prevent them in the first place – which is where gifts in Wills can make a huge difference.

We’d love if you would consider leaving a Gift in your Will to us so that together, we can help fight chest, heart and stroke-related illnesses for future generations.

If you are thinking about leaving a gift to us in your Will, our Guide to Making a Will  can help you gather all the information you'll need for the will-making process.

If you have already left us a gift in your Will,  it would be an enormous help if you could please let us know using our Sharing Your Plans guide below. Any information you provide will be treated with the strictest confidence.

      • Seek professional advice and use a solicitor or financial expert to write your Will. You can find a solicitor in your area by searching the Law Societies website https://www.lawsoc-ni.org/solicitors
      • To make a Will you must be 18 years old or over, be of sound mind, make your Will without pressure from another person, put it in writing and have it signed in the presence of two witnesses.
      • You will need to choose one or two people to be responsible for sorting out your estate – the executor(s) of your Will. Your executor can be a relative, friend, bank official, solicitor or accountant.
      • You must make a list of all your assets and debts and give this to your Will-writer. Our Guide to Making a Will can help you gather the information you need to do this.
      • Decide who you would like to benefit from your estate. This may be family, friends and/or charitable organisations whom you support.
      • It is important to keep your Will up to date. Your personal circumstances may change and this may need to be reflected in an update to your Will. You can change an existing Will by contacting your solicitor who will make the amends for you and provide you with any advice you need.
      • Store your Will safely. This can be at home, with your solicitor, your bank or at the Probate Office in Belfast.

  • As a  supporter of NICHS you have the option to make your will online, free of charge with our will-writing partner, Bequeathed. (An award winning free will writing organisation).

    This will service should be sufficient for most uncomplicated wills, but if you need more detailed legal advice Bequeathed will advise you of this. If you decide on further legal advice with Bequeathed they will inform you of costs upfront.

    To get started go to www.bequeathed.org/nichs and set up your account.

    Be prepared to provide some personal and financial information to set up your will. Our Guide to Making a Will can help you gather the information you will need in advance.

  • If you decide to leave us a gift in your Will, we sincerely thank you. Please make sure to use our correct charity name and address details. Also, including our charity number is good practice as it clearly identifies NICHS as your intended charity.

    Our general contact details are:

    NI Chest Heart and Stroke, 21 Dublin Road, Belfast, BT2 7HB.

    Telephone: 028 90 320184, Email: mail@nichs.org.uk Website: www.nichs.org.uk

    Charity No: NIC 103593; Company No: NI 18889 A Charity Limited by Guarantee.

Thank you for considering a legacy gift. If you have any questions, please contact our Supporter Care team on supportercare@nichs.org.uk or (028) 9026 6743.

  • At least 80p in every £1 raised or donated is spent delivering our life-changing care and prevention services, as well as funding local research into these illnesses.

    How does NICHS spend donations?

    Thanks to our loyal supporters we raised more than £3.35 Million last year to support our programmes across Northern Ireland.

    £1.39 Million was spent on delivering our care support programmes, £576k was spent on delivering our prevention programmes and £736k on local research into chest, heart and stroke related conditions.

    In other words, for every £1 raised, around 80p, went directly to funding our care and prevention programmes as well as research to help fight chest, heart and stroke conditions.

    How you can help

    Over 335,000 people in Northern Ireland are living with chest, heart and stroke conditions, and these illnesses are responsible for 37% of all adult deaths every year. That's almost 6,000 people. Every day across Northern Ireland 11 people will suffer a stroke and 17 will have a heart attack.

    With your support we are able to continue our vital care and prevention work across the community, caring for people who are living with chest, heart and stroke conditions and helping prevent people becoming ill in the first place.


    Support us today and help us lead the fight against chest, heart and stroke illnesses across Northern Ireland.

    Donate

  • Gift Aid is a scheme that allows charities to reclaim tax on donations made by UK taxpayers.

    The scheme allows us to reclaim 25% on qualifying donations and the additional income makes a big difference – enough to fund a local research project.

    So please consider gift aiding your donations if you are a UK taxpayer.

    Click here to find out more.

  • If you would like any further help, or have any questions, please contact Supporter Care on 028 9026 6743 or supportercare@nichs.org.uk

  • The work that we do is only possible because of the generous donations that we receive from our supporters. You are very important to us. Thank you so much for helping us in the care and prevention of chest, heart and stroke illnesses across Northern Ireland.

    When you make a donation to Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke, we promise that :

    • Your donation will be used wisely, responsibly and for the purpose given.
    • If a donation is made for a specific purpose we will honour that request.
    • We will safeguard your personal information in line with Data Protection principles.
    • We will communicate with you in accordance with your wishes.
    • Queries or complaints will be responded to as quickly as possible.
    • Administration costs will be kept to a minimum.
    • Your support will be acknowledged and we will keep you updated about how you are helping people who suffer from chest, heart or stroke illnesses.
    • Fundraisers will respect you as a donor and will be transparent in their dealings with you at all times.
    • Fundraisers will work to the highest professional standards and will adhere to the practices and guidelines as directed by the Institute of Fundraising.
    • Where donations are solicited indirectly, i.e. by 3rd party agencies, we recognise that donors have the right to request information about them.

    If you have any questions, please contact Supporter Care on 028 9026 6743 or supportercare@nichs.org.uk.