This toolkit, developed by Community Foundations of Canada, provides a full range of information and tools to help you in your work with clients, and to learn more about community foundations.
Ways to Give
Bequest/Will
The most common type of deferred planned gift is the charitable bequest. It can be conferred as simply as a written sentence or two in a ill, or within a Codicil appended to an existing Will document.
A legally valid will guarantees that the client's estate will be distributed according to one's exact wishes. For this reason, the will remains the centrepiece of all estate planning.
Sample Clauses For Wills
There are many ways to word a charitable gift in a will. The link below provides sample clauses for that can help to describe a testamentary gift to the Foundation. Of course, the phrases may need to be adapted to reflect specific interests and circumstances. Wills are often more complex than they appear, and the drafting of a will (or a codicil to an existing will) should be entrusted to experienced accounting and legal counsel, ideally those with estate planning expertise.
Notifying Hamilton Community Foundation
Where possible, donors should consider providing the Foundation with a copy of the clauses in the Will that pertain to a bequest to the Foundation. While such notification in no way obligates the donor, it does provide the Foundation with an opportunity to recognize the donor's generosity during his/her lifetime and, if appropriate, to develop a relationship that furthers awareness and appreciation of the donor's intent and objectives. Such notification may also be helpful in receipting the estate at the appropriate time.
Considering an estate gift by will to Hamilton Community Foundation? Please feel free to contact us to discuss the terms of the gift.