A few words can brighten up life… and save it
A few words can brighten up life…
and save it.
Are you thinking about the best way to organize your estate? Are you thinking about what you will have accomplished throughout your life and how you would like to be remembered?
By including Médecins Sans Frontières in your will, you are doing more than just passing on an inheritance; you are bringing your values to life and enabling concrete action in the form of medical care, vaccines, and emergency operations that improve the lives of thousands of people.
With us, you will continue to support those who are suffering by offering them the most beautiful act of generosity!
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MSF in your will
What could be more precious than to pass on the strength and experience acquired during one’s own life? What could be more remarkable when this will is embodied for the benefit of those who need it most and who are suffering?
By bequeathing your assets, or part of them, to Médecins Sans Frontières, you ensure that your support will continue for years to come and enabling thousands of people to look forward to a better future.
What is a bequest?
A bequest is a provision in a will that allows you to formally designate one or more beneficiaries who will receive all or part of your estate upon your death. This enables you to pass on one or more assets, whether movable or immovable, to Médecins Sans Frontières to support our humanitarian mission. It is a way for you to make a tangible, lasting contribution and to help secure a future for the most vulnerable.
Your legacy has the power to save lives
For MSF, the generosity of donors is essential and accounts for 99% of our funding. Since 1971, our teams have been doing everything in their power to provide the most vulnerable with the care they need.
Why leave a legacy to MSF?
Your legacy is a way to guarantee our independence and impartiality. These key values of our Charter are reflected in everything we do. Your money will directly benefit the most disadvantaged populations. Our financial management is rigorous, and our national accounts as well as the internationally consolidated accounts are audited and certified by independent auditors.
Did you know that one in five projects would not be possible without bequests? 💡
What can I leave to MSF?
Including MSF in your will is an invaluable gesture that supports our work. It also gives you the assurance that you are bequeathing a real capacity for action to help those in need, and is a way of ensuring that your values live on beyond your own lifetime.
3 Ways to Pass on Your Legacy
Bequest:
In Luxembourg, there are three types of bequests that you can include in your will:
Universal Bequest allows you to bequeath your entire estate to MSF, provided there are no "forced heirs" (héritiers réservataires, such as children). Within a universal bequest, you can also specify "particular bequests" for other beneficiaries. In this case, the universal legatee—MSF, for example—will be responsible for delivering the specific assets you have designated to those individuals.
General Bequest (Bequest by Universal Title) allows you to bequeath a specific portion (e.g., 30%, one-quarter) or a specific category of assets (e.g., all real estate, all bank holdings) to MSF. This type of bequest is often used if you have forced heirs; it allows you to protect your descendants' legal shares while allocating the "disposable portion" (quotité disponible) of your estate to the charity.
- Specific Bequest is the most common form of giving. it allows you to leave one or more clearly defined assets to MSF. For instance, you can bequeath a specific sum of money, a house, a piece of jewelry, or any other item of value.
Why must you take the "reserved share" into account?
If you have descendants, the largest portion of your estate—known as the "reserved share" (part réservataire)—must legally be passed on to them. You can, however, bequeath all or part of the remaining portion to MSF. This is called the "disposable portion" (quotité disponible), and it represents the part of your assets that you are free to distribute as you see fit.
Indeed, the law stipulates that a portion of your estate, known as the reserved share (la réserve), must be passed on to your descendants. The portion you can distribute as you wish—the disposable portion—will depend on the number of children you have.
On the other hand, if you have no forced heirs, you are free to dispose of your entire estate exactly as you choose.
Let's take the following example: you have a bank account with €90,000 at the time of your death.
- Without children, you can leave €90,000 to Médecins Sans Frontières Luxembourg.
- With one child, €45,000.
- With two children, €30,000.
- With three or more children, €22,500.
Donations:
A donation allows you to take immediate action by transferring ownership of an asset during your lifetime. To be valid, a donation must meet the formal requirements of a notarial deed.
For more information, please contact your notary.
Life insurance:
Life insurance is another way to provide long-term support for our work. It allows you to build savings within a favorable tax framework and, in the event of your death, to transfer your assets to MSF as one of the beneficiaries duly specified when signing the contract.
How to make a legacy?
To bequeath all or part of your estate to Médecins Sans Frontières Luxembourg, you must establish a will expressing this intent. A will is not a fixed document; you can modify it whenever and as often as you wish.
- The Holographic Will (le testament olographe):
A holographic will must be entirely handwritten on a plain sheet of paper, precisely dated (day, month, and year), and signed. Joint wills signed by both spouses are not valid.
To ensure your final wishes are respected, it is highly recommended to secure your holographic will in one of two ways:
A) Registration: Register it yourself at the Central Register of Last Wills (registre central des dispositions de dernière volonté) held by the Administration de l’Enregistrement et des Domaines (the fee is €9.92).
B) Notarial Deposit: Leave it with a notary for safekeeping; they will then handle the registration for you.
- The Authentic Will (le testament authentique):
A notarised will is a will drawn up as a public document. You dictate your will either in the presence of two notaries, or in the presence of one notary and two witnesses. The will is then drafted by the notary and signed by you, the notary and the two witnesses, or by the two notaries.
The advantage of this type of will is its reliability. Your will is drawn up by a notary who is familiar with and adheres to the law in force. You should expect to pay at least €250 for this notarised deed. If you wish to amend or revoke your will, you will need to go through a notary again. A notarised will can only be replaced by another notarised will.
- The Mystic Will:
A mystic will is a will signed by you and presented closed and sealed, in the presence of two witnesses, to a notary. A deed of subscription, attesting to the receipt of the will, is then drawn up by the notary and signed by you, the two witnesses, and the notary. As with a formal will, this will will be registered by the notary with the central register of last wills and testaments.
The advantage of this type of will is its confidentiality: your last wishes will be kept secret until your death.
MSF is committed to respecting your wishes.
Because there is no greater symbol than being entrusted with a legacy, we want to give it the importance it deserves. Without a will or heirs, your estate will go to the government. Bequeathing your estate to MSF ensures that your legacy will be used to serve a cause that transcends borders.
Your legacy has the power to save lives.
For MSF, the generosity of donors is essential, accounting for 98% of our resources. Since 1971, our teams have been working tirelessly to provide the most vulnerable with the care they need.
Your questions about bequests
Here you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions about bequests and donations. For further information on the law or your personal circumstances, please contact your notary.
Request your brochure, fill out the form
Question? Talk about it!
Our legacy and donor services team is at your disposal:
Contact Danièle Bach
Donor service
Tel. : 33 25 15-311
Mail : dons@msf.lu