CHRISTINE ROBINSON - World Wide Fund for Nature
Estates Proactively Managed
Bequest Assist has completely taken estate management off my plate. Their system is really helpful in actively moving your open estates. It’s designed to ensure things don’t fall through the cracks.
For example, we had an estate that was open for 20 years... the estate had more than $200,000 just sitting in the public trustee for decades. When Maureen came on board, one glance at the data showed her how long this estate had been open. She took action so we received the funds within 9 months. So that’s $200,000 that we still wouldn’t have today if not for Bequest Assist.
The support with contested estates and the access to their estate expertise is only going to increase the value of Gifts in Wills to your cause. We’ve shifted from just being reactive... to our open estates being actively tracked, reviewed and moved forward with income realised much sooner.
You get taxes minimised and gifts maximised
Also estates are being realised at their maximum value. Many solicitors and lawyers don’t know about estate taxation. They don’t know about the tax-deductible status of charities, that taxes can be avoided by charities and how to do that. With Bequest Assist involved very early in the process, they’re actively contacting solicitors and providing advice to minimise tax for us.
You still retain complete control
As bequest managers, we have this fear of letting go, but the Bequest Assist system means that you don’t lose any oversight of your estates. At any moment, you can open up an estate in the system and see that an email was sent to a solicitor and on what date. You can see exactly where every estate is in the process, the money paid to your charity and the amount forecasted for receipt.
My experience is that Bequest Assist has been extremely reliable and trustworthy. Maureen and her team have brought money in for us that either we wouldn’t have received at all or would only have received in the distant future.