Bequests

	Bequests
What is it?	A charitable gift that becomes effective at your death.
When is it used?	When you want to make a charitable gift, but also want to be sure that your own or your family's needs are taken care of during your lifetime.
How does it work?	When you write your will or revocable trust, ask your attorney to add a gift to charity. *The language can be simple - I give [an amount of money, shares of stock, a percentage of my estate]* to [name of charity]. You might want to make more complicated gifts, such as leaving a trust or gift annuity for a person for his or her lifetime and the remainder to the charity. If you give Series E or EE bonds to your loved ones, they will have to pay income tax, just like on retirement assets. But if you give them to a charity in your will (they must be specifically described), no income taxes will have to be paid. Your gift can even be contingent: "if my loved one dies before me, then I give the balance of my estate to charity." Only you know what kind of gift you want to make. You can name several charities separately in your will or other estate planning document, or you can make your gifts to a fund at The Minneapolis Foundation. The language for a gift to an established charitable fund is as follows:** I give [description of gift] to The Minneapolis Foundation, a Minnesota non-profit corporation, to be held as the [NAME] Fund. The fund you set up can support any number of charities, can be named for your family or in someone's honor, and can create an endowment that will provide for those charities forever. You can even change your mind from time to time about which charities will be helped, or leave the decisions up to the Foundation. Your favorite charity may even already have a fund set up at the Foundation so your gift can be joined with the gifts of other generous donors to make an even greater difference! Another simple way to make a charitable gift is to name your fund at The Minneapolis Foundation as the beneficiary of life insurance or of your retirement account or IRA. As with EE bonds, if you give retirement assets to individuals, they will have to pay income tax. Charities are tax-exempt, so the whole value of your retirement asset is available to leave your legacy. For help in creating your legacy through your will or trust or using retirement or other assets, talk to your financial adviser or attorney or call the development office at The Minneapolis Foundation.
	We're happy to help you find the charitable giving or estate planning option that works best for your situation. We can work directly with you or through your professional advisor. Call us today at (612) 672-3874 or e-mail us at development@mplsfoundation.org.