Bequest
A bequest is a gift you can make to support one of our partner organizations in your will or living trust or with a codicil.
A bequest allows you to continue to use the property you will leave to us during your life and make a lasting impact on our work after you are gone.
Benefits of a bequest
- Receive an estate tax charitable deduction
- Reduce the burden of taxes on your family
- Leave a lasting legacy to our organization
Charitable bequest video
How a bequest works
A bequest is one of the easiest gifts to make. With the help of an attorney, you can include language in your will or trust specifying a gift to be made to family, friends or your favorite charity as part of your estate plan, or you can make a bequest using a beneficiary designation form.
Here are some of the ways to leave a bequest to Lutheran Giving
- Include a bequest to Lutheran Giving in your will or revocable trust
- Designate Lutheran Giving as a full, partial or contingent beneficiary of your retirement account (IRA, 401(k), 403(b) or pension)
- Name Lutheran Giving as a beneficiary of your life insurance policy
A bequest may be made in several ways
- 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 example, you may wish to leave your home or $10,000 to Lutheran Giving.
- Percentage Bequest - Another kind of bequest involves leaving a specific percentage of your overall estate to our organization. For example, you may wish to leave 10% of your estate to Lutheran Giving.
- 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 your favorite nonprofit organizations. For example, you may wish to leave 30% of the residue of your estate to several of our partner ministries.
Review sample bequest language
Contact Us
If you have any questions about leaving a bequest to one of our partner ministries, or would like to utilize a gift instrument that simplifies your charitable gifting, please contact us. Lutheran Giving would be happy to assist you. If you have been so generous as to include a bequest to one of our partner ministries as part of your estate plan, please take the time to let us know. We would like to recognize you and your family for your generosity and include you in our Willing Witness legacy society.
