Financial Giving Alternatives

 

We all desire to make a lasting difference in our community.  We want to live our lives to the fullest with family and friends around and leave a permanent mark where we live.

This search for significance leads us to wonder about the legacy that we will leave behind.  A bequest is an easy and concrete means to have a lasting impact on the people and organizations who have meant so much to us.  A bequest could be an effective way to give while diminishing tax obligations to our family and our estate.

 

A charitable bequest is a provision in a will or trust that directs a gift to be made to a qualified exempt charity when we pass away. A charitable bequest can support an organization that we have volunteered in long after we have gone.  A charitable bequest may also reduce estate taxes by the amount of our gift. 

 

A financial planner or an advisor can assist in adding language to a will or trust directing a gift to be made to family, friends or charity as part of the estate planning process.

What Are My Options?

A bequest may be in the form of: 

- A percentage of the estate
- A specific asset
- The residue of the estate