Making a Planned Gift

Making a Bequest

An excellent way for you to support Four County Community Foundation’s mission is to leave us a bequest in your will, living trust, or with a codicil. One significant benefit of making a gift by bequest is that it allows you to continue to use the property you will leave to charity during your life.  Another benefit is that you are able to leave a lasting legacy.

A bequest is generally a revocable gift, which means it can be changed or modified at any time.  You can choose to designate that a bequest be used for a general or specific purpose so you have the peace of mind knowing that your gift will be used as intended.  Bequests are exempt from federal estate taxes.  If you have a taxable estate, the estate tax charitable deduction may offset or eliminate estate taxes, resulting in a larger inheritance for your heirs.

Contact Kathy Dickens if you have any questions about how to make a bequest to Four County Community Foundation or to request any additional information that might be helpful to you and your attorney.

Types of Bequests

Specific Bequest:  A specific bequest involves making a gift of a specific asset such as real estate, a car, other property, or a gift for a specific dollar amount.  For instance, you may wish to leave your home or a gift of $25,000 to Four County Community Foundation.  See Bequest Language 1 – Specific Bequest

Percentage Bequest: Another kind of specific bequest involves leaving a specific percentage of your overall estate to charity. For example, you may wish to leave 10% of your estate to Four County Community Foundation. See Bequest Language 2 – Percentage Bequest

Residual Bequest: A residual bequest is made from the balance of an estate after the will or trust has given away each of the specific bequests.  A common residual bequest involves leaving a percentage of the residue of the estate to charity.  For example, you may wish to leave 30% of the residue of your estate to Four County Community Foundation.  See Bequest Language 3 – Residual Bequest

Contingent Bequest: A contingent bequest is made to charity only if the purpose of the primary bequest cannot be met.  For example, you could leave specific property, such as a vacation home, to a relative, but the bequest language could provide that if the relative is not alive at the time of your death, the vacation home will go be sold to benefit Four County Community Foundation.  See Bequest Language 4 – Contingent Bequest

Restricted Bequest: If you are considering a bequest but would like to ensure that your gift will be used for a specific purpose, we will work with you and your attorney to meet your charitable objectives.  See Bequest Language 5 – Restricted Bequest

Let us know about your bequest

If you have included a bequest for Four County Community Foundation in your estate plan, let us know. We would like to thank you!  The Foundation will recognize your gift, or keep your gift anonymous, whatever you prefer.

Gift of Life Insurance

Life insurance provides a simple way for you to give a significant gift to charity, with tax benefits that you can enjoy during your lifetime.

Benefits

Giving life insurance through Four County Community Foundation is one of the simplest ways to make a significant contribution to your community and establish your legacy of giving. You can make a gift when life insurance is no longer needed for personal financial wealth replacement. You may receive a number of tax benefits, including reduced income taxes and estate taxes. And, if you choose to continue paying premiums through the Foundation, you will be entitled to a charitable contribution deduction of up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income.

You can replace the dollar value of an asset transferred to the Foundation with a life insurance policy. Or you can use regular payments from a Charitable Gift Annuity or Charitable Remainder Trust to establish an irrevocable life insurance trust. The trust can purchase insurance on your life to benefit your heirs. This way, you can make a gift to Four County Community Foundation and replace the value of this gift within your estate with life insurance proceeds. To learn more about gifts of life insurance, please contact Kathy Dickens.