Bequests – Wills & Trusts - Charitable Giving

You’re most likely already working with clients whose estate plans include bequests to donor-advised or other types of funds at Hudson Community Foundation. Please reach out to the team at HCF.  We are happy to provide sample bequest language, or even review existing bequests to evaluate whether anything needs to be adjusted. Indeed, our team routinely assists CPAs, financial advisors, and attorneys whose specialty is something other than estate law. 

Here’s a couple quick tips:

Some bequests take the form of a “specific bequest,” which means that the client’s fund at the community foundation receives a specific amount of money from your client’s probate estate or trust. For example, for a specific bequest, the client’s will might include something like the following:

I bequeath $15,000 to Hudson Community Foundation (taxpayer ID number 34-1935499), a tax-exempt organization under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), to be added to the [Name of Client’s Fund], a component fund of HCF, and I direct that this bequest become part of the Fund. 

In these situations, the HCF will be ready to receive the bequest, typically as soon as the estate is settled. 

In other situations, the client may want to leave a bequest of a portion of the remainder of the estate after all specific bequests, expenses, and taxes have been paid. These types of bequests are called “residuary” bequests. The language can look something like this:

I leave all the rest and residue of my property, both real and personal, of whatever nature and wherever situated, and assets, including all real and personal property, tangible or intangible, to Hudson Community Foundation (tax payer ID 34-1935499), a tax exempt organization under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), to be added to the [Name of Client’s Fund], a component fund of Hudson Community Foundation, and I direct that this bequest become part of the Fund.

Because the amount of a residuary bequest cannot be determined until all of the assets in an estate have been identified and valued, and all expenses and taxes have been paid, the designated charity (in this example, the client’s fund at HCF) will not receive the full amount of a residuary bequest until the estate is completely settled. Typically, however, the estate’s personal representative or trustee will make what is known as a “partial distribution” to the residuary beneficiary (or beneficiaries as the case may be), as soon as the personal representative has enough information about the assets and liabilities to confidently do so.

When a client leaves a residuary bequest to a fund at Hudson Community Foundation, our team will be involved at various steps during the administration of the estate until final distribution. For example, the community foundation will receive regular communications about the estate related to assets, expenses, taxes, and periodic accountings. The community foundation will execute documents, such as receipts, related to distributions and other estate transactions.

The team at the HCF looks forward to working with you and your clients to establish (or update) bequests to fulfill your clients’ charitable legacies. Give us a call! 

Read more about Donors Guide to Donor Advised Funds.

With a fund at Hudson Community Foundation (HCF), advisors can manage the charitable assets on their preferred platform at any amount. Assets stay under your management. You can provide your clients with the consistent investment advice they expect. We are your partner in charitable giving!

The team at HCF is a resource as you serve your philanthropic clients. We understand the charitable side and are happy to serve as a secondary source as you manage the primary relationship with your clients. This blog is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice.