Bequest Gift
How to include LSNC in your will:
Donors may make a charitable gift by naming Legal Services of Northern California as a beneficiary in their wills. The federal government encourages these gift or bequests, by allowing an unlimited estate tax charitable deduction. In addition, a charitable bequest may place your estate in a lower estate tax bracket.
To make a bequest to Legal Services of Northern California, the following language will be helpful to your lawyer:
I give, devise, and bequeath to Legal Services of Northern California the sum of _____________ (or otherwise describe the gift or specify a percentage of the estate).
There are three ways you can make a bequest:
1. Specific Bequest: You designate a specific dollar amount, specific percentage, or specific property to Legal Services of Northern California.
2. Residual Bequest: Your estate will pay all debts, taxes, expenses, and specific bequests. The remaining amount -- the residual -- will be transferred to Legal Services of Northern California.
3. Contingent Bequest: You can ask that Legal Services of Northern California receive all or a portion of your estate only under certain circumstances. For example, you can name Legal Services of Northern California as a beneficiary of your estate only if there are no surviving close family members. Childless couples sometimes provide for the entire estate to go to the surviving spouse, or if the spouse does not survive, to Legal Services of Northern California.
We make no claims regarding the accuracy of the above information or the tax consequences stemming from your use of it. Please consult with your own tax, legal, or financial planning advisor.
