Wills Month 2025

This September is Wills Month. Each day our community can only continue to receive our crucial specialist services in part due to the extraordinary difference people in our community have made by leaving a Gift in their Will to Nelson Tasman Hospice Trust — people who believe in community, in compassion, in dignity, and in looking after our own. 

Gifts in Wills matters for today and matter for tomorrow. Nelson Tasman Hospice provides free, specialist palliative care to around 210 patients and their whānau each month, offering medical support, counselling, respite, and bereavement care—all at no cost to recipients.  

Despite this, over half of the Hospice’s operational funding must come from the community, leaving an annual shortfall of more than $4m. Our hospice services began thanks to a graceful bequest in the 1980s – Sally McCormack’s estate gift of $65,000 laid the foundation for what would become vital palliative care services throughout the Nelson Tasman region. 

Bequests like Sally’s transformed a seed of compassion into decades of caring support for thousands and thousands of families – and yours can do the same. 

Every dollar you gift stays right here, supporting your community directly. More than a donation, your gift is a statement: a commitment to ensure comfort, dignity, and compassion are available to all in our community, now and for future generations. 

Imagine what your bequest can do: 

• Your gift could help sustain crucial services – home visits, inpatient support, counselling, equipment delivery, and more – that comfort and support families when they need it most. 

• In a time when hospice demand continues to grow steadily, your foresight ensures that compassionate care remains unwavering and accessible for the local community. 

Take heart in knowing your decisions today can shape the lives of those you’ll never meet. Truly, you will be leaving a lasting legacy.  

Take the first step today – your thoughtful gift, however modest, is treasured and will continue to make an extraordinary difference to local families. Please get in touch should you like to discuss leaving a legacy with the Nelson Tasman Hospice Trust.   

This wills month Atkinson Crehan Law and Pitt & Moore Lawyers have again offered to donate $50 to Nelson Tasman Hospice for every new Will signed during September. We appreciate their support and for being part of our compassionate community.