LEAVE A LEGACY DELMARVA
Make a Difference in the Lives that Follow
Leave A Legacy Delmarva is a program of the National Committee on Planned Giving, and is sponsored here locally by the Delmarva Planned Giving Council. Its goal is to encourage the people of Delmarva to make legacy gifts to the charitable organizations they support so faithfully during their lifetimes. Like the dozens of other LEAVE A LEGACY® programs throughout the country, ours here on Delmarva does not solicit gifts for any particular organization. Instead, it is a partnership of nonprofit groups — from health care organizations to schools, churches or social services programs—all working to benefit our local community. In addition, Leave A Legacy Delmarva partners include professionals who assist these non-profits with establishing planned giving programs for their donors and who assist donors with charitable estate planning.
Help Delmarva people through the years by joining a group of forward-thinking philanthropists. Most Americans contribute to the nonprofit groups of their choice throughout their lifetimes but of those who have wills, only about eight percent choose to continue this charitable support through bequests. Become a member of this forward-thinking percentage and make bequests to favorite charities part of your estate planning and continue to help the organizations that are making a difference in your community.
Making legacy gifts is easy! In most cases, all it takes is a simple paragraph in your will. Or, there are other giving techniques that not only support your chosen nonprofit organizations, but can provide substantial tax and other benefits for you and your family today and for your heirs in the future.
Get started now by thinking about to whom and why you'd like to leave a legacy. Did a particular organization help you or someone you love? Do you volunteer for an organization and believe in its mission? Do you want your legacy to fund a specific cause like research or a new building? And, do you want your gift to honor or memorialize someone dear to you?
Talk with a professional today about leaving a gift. Your financial planner, attorney, accountant or insurance agent can help. So can the development department of a charitable organization or one of our Delmarva Planned Giving Council partners. These professionals can also tell you about the maximum tax and legal advantages of planned gifts.
How to Give
Below, we have listed some of the more common kinds of bequests, and some bequest language. We always recommend that you carefully review the terms of your will with a professional trained in handling trusts and estates.
General Bequests are legacies left to
certain people or causes that come from the
general value of the estate, and are made by designating a specific
dollar amount, a particular asset or a fixed
percentage of your estate to the cause of
your choice.
General bequest language:
"I give, devise, and bequeath to NAME OF CHARITY/LOCATION, the sum of $________(or a description of the specific asset), for the benefit of NAME OF CHARITY and its general purposes."
Specific Bequests are made when a
particular item or property is bequeathed
for a designated purpose. (i.e., instruments
bequeathed to the local school district for
use in music education; dollar funds to be
used in the operation of a school or
church.)
Specific bequest language:
"I give, devise, and bequeath to NAME OF CHARITY/LOCATION, the sum of $_______ (or a description of a specific asset), for the benefit of NAME OF CHARITY to be used for the following purpose: (state the purpose). If at any time in the judgment of the trustees of NAME OF CHARITY it is impossible or impracticable to carry out exactly the designated purpose, they shall determine an alternative purpose closest to the designated purpose."
Residuary Bequests are made when you intend to leave the residue portion of your assets after other terms of the will have been satisfied.
Residuary bequest language:
"All the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, both real and personal, I give to NAME OF CHARITY/LOCATION, for its general purposes."
Contingency Bequests allow you to leave a portion of your estate to a particular charity if your named beneficiary does not survive you.
Contingency bequest language:
"I devise and bequeath the residue of the property, real and personal and wherever situated, owned by me at my death, to (name of beneficiary), if (she/he) survives me. If (name of beneficiary) does not survive me, I devise and bequeath my residuary estate to NAME OF CHARITY/LOCATION, for its general purposes."
