Gift Planning
A Bequest to Save Taxes
Thomas was a widower who had a great love for our organization. As an individual who had directly benefited from our work, Thomas wanted to thank us with a gift from his estate.
Thomas told his attorney that he wished to make a bequest to his favorite charity. Thomas' estate included some stocks, real estate and an IRA. Thomas' attorney recommended that he give the appreciated stock and real estate to his children and leave his IRA to charity.
Thomas: My attorney told me that if I gave the stock and real estate to my children, these assets would receive a step-up in basis at my death. My children could then sell them without paying tax. However, if I gave my children my IRA, the IRA would be subject to estate and income tax. After paying all of these taxes, very little would be left for my family. By giving the IRA to this organization, I could make a nice gift and avoid any additional tax for my estate and children.
Thomas contacted his IRA custodian to obtain a beneficiary designation form. He filled out the form and designated our organization as the 100% recipient of his IRA account. Thomas' attorney then specified in Thomas' will the bequest of his other assets to his children.
Thomas: I was so impressed with my attorney's advice that I named him executor of my will!
Thomas called and notified us of his bequest. Thomas was pleased that because our organization was a tax exempt institution, it would receive the full amount of the IRA value when he passed away, creating a legacy for the future.
You also may want to make it easy and convenient to have a bequest included in your will. The language below shows how a bequest can very easily be included in your will.
You might find it helpful to select the "print" button below and print this page. Please feel free to give this information to your attorney. If he or she has any questions, please contact us.
*Please note: The name and image above is representative of a typical donor and may or may not be an actual donor to our organization. Since your benefits may be different, you may want to click here to view a color example of your benefits.
General Bequest for a Specific Location:
"I give to The Salvation Army, an Illinois non-profit corporation, in (City), (State), the sum of ____dollars ($____), or ____% of my estate, to be used in such manner as its Board of Trustees determine advisable for the benefit of The Salvation Army".
Residuary Bequest:
"I give to The Salvation Army, an Illinois non-profit corporation, ____% of my residuary estate, after satisfaction of all other specific bequests, to be used for work in (City), (State) Corps, or in such manner as its Board of Trustees determines if the (City), (State) Corps no longer exists".
Contingent Bequest:
"If (insert name) is not living on the ninetieth day after the day of my death, I give all the rest of the property I own at my death to The Salvation Army, an Illinois non-profit corporation, in (City), (State), or in such manner as its Board of Trustees determines if the (City), (State) Corps no longer exists".
Restricted to Specific Program:
"I give to The Salvation Army, an Illinois non-profit corporation, in (City), (State), the sum of ____dollars ($_____), or _____% of my residuary estate, (and/or if property is given, describe same), for the specific purpose of _____ (Please contact our Planned Giving office for the wording to designate a specific program) or in such manner as its Board of Trustees determines if the program (City), (State) Corps no longer exists".
Restricted to Program & Location:
"I give to The Salvation Army, an Illinois non-profit corporation, in (City), (State), the sum of _____dollars ($_____), or ____% of my estate, (and/or if property is given, describe same), for the specific purpose of _____ ( Please contact our Planned Giving office for the wording to designate a specific program) and to be used by the said organization in (City), (State), or in such manner as its Board of Trustees determines if the program in (City), (State) Corps no longer exists".
Perpetual Fund (Endowment)
"I give to The Salvation Army, an Illinois non-profit corporation, the sum of ____dollars ($_____), or ____% of my estate, to be known as The ____ Fund (Endowment). The Fund may be invested by its Board of Trustees as it deems advisable, either separately or commingled for investment purposes with other funds administered by the Board, the net earned income to be used for work in (City), (State) Corps, or in such manner as its Board of Trustees determines if the (City), (State) Corps no longer exists".
If you already have a Will and wish to include a bequest to The Salvation Army without having your Will rewritten, you may use the following suggested form of Codicil.
Codicil:
"I ____, a resident of ____, do make, publish and declare this to be a Codicil to the Last Will and Testament executed by me on ____. I do hereby modify and amend my Last Will and Testament in the following manner:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I sign this instrument as a Codicil to my Last Will and Testament in the presence of the persons witnessing it this ____ day of ____ 20__, at (City), (State).
_________________ (Signature)
The foregoing instrument was signed by _____ the testator, as a Codicil to his/her Last Will and Testament, in our presence, and we, in his/her presence of each other, have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses this ____ day of ____ 20__, at (City), (State).
__________________ (Witness) and _________________ (Witness)