Bequest

Our Mission:
The Australian Garden History Society promotes awareness and conservation of significant gardens and cultural landscapes through engagement, research, advocacy and activities.

Formed in 1980, AGHS brings together people from diverse backgrounds united by an appreciation of and concern for our parks, gardens and cultural landscapes as part of Australia's heritage. The Society promotes knowledge of historic gardens, significant landscapes and research into their history. It aims to examine gardens, landscapes and gardening in their widest social, historic, literary, artistic and scientific context.

The Australian Garden History Society acknowledges Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia. We pay respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past, present and emerging.

You have the power to help shape the future of Australian landscapes – one where our significant Australian landscapes remain intact. A gift in your Will, no matter the amount, can make a real difference to the work carried out by the Australian Garden History Society and raise the profile many unique Australian landscapes.

How would you like to be remembered?

No matter the size, when you include a gift in your Will, you're leaving a legacy that will carry on for future generations.

Updating an existing Will

If you'd like to include AGHS in your existing Will, you may simply like to add a Codicil (an amendment to your Will). Codicils are a simple and effective way to make updates without re-writing your entire Will.

You will need to obtain legal advice and ensure it is signed and witnessed by a solicitor or Public Trustee.

Categories of gifts

Whole or part of your Will - You can leave your entire estate or any part of your estate to AGHS.

Residual - A residual gift means once all specific gifts are distributed and your debts are paid, the remainder (or a proportion) of your estate will be paid to AGHS. This is a simple way to leave a gift that needn't interfere with any specific bequests to loved ones.

A percentage of your estate - It can be difficult to choose a specific cash amount to leave when you don't know how much will be in your estate when the time comes. Making your gift a percentage of your estate, or of the residual of your estate, means no matter the value of your final estate, the proportion you intended for AGHS stays the same.

Gift in Specie - If you're considering leaving real estate or shares to AGHS, you may wish to consider leaving the gift in specie. This means it may be transferred directly to AGHS and may save your estate paying capital gains tax on the sale of the asset. Seek appropriate legal advice to ensure this is suitable to your circumstance.

Life Interest - Sometimes a supporter intends to gift a property to AGHS but also wishes to allow a family member or friend to live in that home for a period of time, or for their lifetime. Once that time has passed, the property will be sold and the proceeds be paid to AGHS. This is called a life interest. A life interest may mean AGHS doesn't receive your gift until years into the future and, in some cases, the gift may never be received at all. Seek legal advice in drafting a life interest gift to ensure your intentions are clearly set out in your Will.

A specific bequest - You can leave any identifiable property as a bequest to AGHS. A specific gift may include any sum of money, cash balances in a bank account, a residential house, commercial real estate or company shares.

Suggested codicil wording

“I give:
(a) the residue (or percentage) of the residue of my estate; or
(b) the sum of $ (amount); or (specified items)
to Australian Garden History Society Inc, (ABN 97 291 212 843) to be held upon Trust and to be applied towards conservation purposes in accordance with the Constitutional objectives of Australian Garden History Society Inc. in its absolute discretion to determine.”

A bequest that supports AGHS’s work in general provides us with the greatest flexibility to respond to critical priorities in the future; however, if you have a particular purpose in mind, please contact AGHS to discuss your wishes.

If you have any questions or have already included AGHS in your will, please fill out this form so we can thank you. We only need your name and one or more methods of contacting you.