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Charitable Bequests

The term charitable bequest is used to describe anything you give or leave to charity from your estate through a will or a revocable inter-trust. An estate is any property, money or personal belongings that you may have at the time of your death. Most people leave an estate when they pass away, even though they may not have a great deal of wealth. Even an individual with a small estate can arrange to leave a charitable bequest.

Bequests are popular, because you can leave a legacy. After you make a charitable bequest, you retain full use of your property for life, therefore there is no disruption of your standard of living, no immediate extra costs. You only designate that part of your estate go to your favorite charity in your will.

You can arrange to bequeath a donation from your estate in several different ways. You can set aside a specific dollar amount, leave a percentage of their estate, or leave any assets left over after your family has been provided for. You use a bequest to give a charity something you own, such as a car, boat, home, plane, art or jewelry. Others leave a paid life insurance policy or other financial investments, such as stocks, bonds or CDs. These gifts may provide tax savings.

Even as a bequest offers no income tax benefits, each dollar is deductible for estate tax purposes. Estate tax rates are higher than income tax rates, topping out at 49% in 2003, and 48% in 2004.

For more information, please email us or call (530) 979-1288.