Leave a Lasting Legacy

Protect our ocean. Inspire future scientists. Create a legacy that lasts beyond a lifetime.

Why leave a Gift in your Will?

Remembering the Marine Biological Association with a Gift in your Will is a meaningful act of kindness and an extraordinary way to celebrate your life and leave a lasting legacy.

Your legacy helps fuel discovery through world-leading marine research, inspire the future marine scientists of tomorrow, and protect our ocean, ensuring it can thrive for generations to come.

The MBA exists to deliver scientific excellence, global impact, and ocean stewardship, building on a 140‑year legacy of discovery and leadership in marine science.

By leaving a Gift in your Will, you help ensure that today’s discoveries become tomorrow’s solutions, and that the MBA’s work continues to protect ocean life for decades to come.

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A Legacy in Action: Prof. Anne Warner

Professor Anne Warner FRS was a pioneering cell biologist and a passionate advocate for science and education. Her groundbreaking work on gap junctions reshaped our understanding of how cells communicate during early development, influencing modern developmental and molecular biology.

Anne had a close association with the MBA as a visiting researcher, Vice-President, and organiser of internationally renowned cell biology workshops in Plymouth. Her deep belief in opportunity and mentorship continues to influence, inspire and educate today.

Through a generous gift in her Will, Anne established the Anne Warner Endowed Fellowship, ensuring that her values and vision would live on far beyond her lifetime to support new generations of marine scientists.

Together with our supporters we are able to invest in the exceptional marine biologists of tomorrow – nurturing talent, igniting curiosity, and connecting young people with world-class researchers whose mentorship can change the course of a life and career.

We are proud to welcome Dr Amy Courtney as the newest Anne Warner Fellow, as she becomes part of the MBA and an enduring story that began with one woman’s decision to make a lasting difference.

“It’s a real honour to carry forward Professor Anne Warner’s legacy at the MBA.

“Anne championed the use of marine organisms to uncover fundamental biological principles, and this fellowship gives me the opportunity to build on that tradition in my own research. I’m excited for the discoveries that lie ahead.”

Dr Amy Courtney, Anne Warner Fellow

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Your Gift, Your Impact

The urgent challenges facing the marine environment – climate change, biodiversity loss, and ocean pollution – are long‑term and complex. They cannot be solved within one lifetime or funding cycle. They require continuity of knowledge, sustained investment in people, and the ability to generate new science that leads to new understanding and action.

By leaving a Gift in your Will, you become part of this continuity, fuelling future discovery, strengthening the scientific community, and ensuring that the MBA can keep harnessing the talents of exceptional young people passionate about translating data into impact.

Planning Your Legacy

Gifts in Wills take various forms, and all could benefit our cutting-edge work. The two most common types are:

Residuary bequest: The remainder of your estate, or a percentage of the amount left after gifts, taxes, etc., have been settled.

Pecuniary or fixed-sum bequest: An amount of money decided upon when the Will is written. This sum can be protected from inflation by expressing the wish to index link the amount to the rate of inflation.

Suggested Wording

We always recommend that you take professional legal advice when drafting, updating or adding a codicil to your Will. The suggested wording below is intended to help you when you visit your solicitor in order to make or update your Will.

We suggest wording along the following lines:

I give {Insert either: “the whole” or “{insert value} percent” of my estate not otherwise disposed of by this Will or “£{insert specified amount}”} to the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (registered charity 1155893 and registered address: The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB) to be applied as an unrestricted legacy and for the general purposes of of the Marine Biological Association. I declare that a receipt signed by a Director or other authorised officer shall be good and sufficient discharge for my Executors.

Unrestricted bequests for our general purposes are particularly welcome as they can be directed towards our areas of greatest need. This widens the area in which your gift can be directed, maximising its impact. However, we recognise that you may prefer to direct your bequests towards a specific area of our work. In these instances, we politely request that you permit a proportionate contribution to our running costs as this helps safeguard our world-class facilities vital for our continued focus on priorities important to you. Your solicitors can advise you further in this regard and you are very welcome to contact us if you wish to discuss any specific requests.

To understand more about our priorities, please click here.

As a charity, making a gift in your Will for the MBA is tax-free. However, it can also help reduce inheritance tax on your entire estate.

There is usually no inheritance tax to pay if the value of your estate is below the £325,000 threshold, or you leave everything above the £325,000 threshold to a charity.

The standard inheritance tax rate is 40% which is applied to the part of your estate above the £325,000 threshold. However, if you were to leave 10% or more of the net value of your estate to charity, the inheritance tax rate for the remaining sum above the threshold is reduced to 36%, leaving more funds for your beneficiaries. However, we recommend that you seek professional legal advice to understand the tax implications of your estate planning.

The Inheritance Tax rules change from time to time and up to date information on Inheritance Tax can be found on the UK government website.

As your Will is a very personal matter, if you are interested in leaving a gift to the Marine Biological Association of any kind, we invite you to discuss your plans with us in confidence so that we can ensure your wishes are understood and can be fulfilled. Telling us about your plans to leave a gift in your Will, will help us ensure your wishes are met later on. If you have already remembered us in your Will, we would also love to hear from you so we can thank you for your special gift, invite you to events, keep you informed about our work and the work gifts like yours are enabling.

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Leave a Gift in your Will