Remembering Baystate Health Foundation in your will is a wonderful way for you to make a lasting gift. Large or small, your bequest will make an important contribution to our long-term strength and our ability to carry on with our activities.
But what if you don't have a will or living trust? You are not alone. Most Americans don’t have a will.
Without a will, the laws of your state will decide how your estate is divided. Typically, the probate court will divide your estate among your closest surviving family members according to a formula, and none of your estate can go to Baystate Health Foundation or any other charity. If you wish to have a say in how your estate is distributed, you must have a will or living trust. We encourage you to work with an experienced attorney to create a will or living trust that accomplishes your goals for your estate.
Ways you can define a charitable gift in your estate plan
There are several ways that you can define the amount of your charitable gift to Baystate Health Foundation. They are:
- A gift of a particular amount of money. For example, you give $25,000.
- A gift of a specific item or items. For example, you give 1,000 shares of ABC Corporation.
- A gift that will be made only if one or more conditions are met. For example, you give $25,000 provided we still offer a particular program or service, or your spouse does not survive you.
- A gift that will be made from the remainder of your estate once all other bequests, debts, and taxes have been paid. For example, you give 25% of the remainder of your estate. Often called a "residuary bequest," this approach assures that your family will be taken care of before your estate makes a bequest to us.
Ways to specify how we may use your bequest
You have several options for telling Baystate Health Foundation how we may use your bequest once we receive it. They are:
- An unrestricted bequest – Unrestricted bequests are the most valuable to Baystate Health , as they give us to the flexibility to use your gift for the area of greatest need.
- A restricted bequest – This is a gift for a specific use, such as a special project or program that is important to you. We recommend you consult with us before placing restrictions on your bequest to be sure we can carry out your wishes.
- An honorary bequest – This is a gift made in honor of someone else. Any form of bequest can also be an honorary bequest. We would be pleased to recognize the people you wish to honor with your gift.
Make sure we can carry out your wishes
It is very important that your bequest be accurately and clearly described in your estate plan so that we can carry out your wishes as you intended. If you are interested in supporting a specific project, program or area, please discuss your plans with our gift planning professionals before completing your will to confirm Baystate Health can carry out your intentions. In order to avoid any possible question that your bequest is to our organization, be sure to include our full legal name and our federal tax identification number in your bequest.
Legal name: Baystate Health Foundation, Inc.
Current Address: 280 Chestnut St, Springfield, MA 01199
Tax identification number: 04-3549011
We are happy to provide you with sample bequest language to assist you and your attorney.
You have complete flexibility to change your bequest at any time. If circumstances change in a way that makes you need to revise your gift to us, you can.
Tax benefits
Because your bequest is revocable, you do not receive an income tax charitable deduction when you create it. Rather, your estate will receive an estate tax deduction for the full value of your bequest in the year it is made. Depending on a variety of factors, including the size of your estate and estate tax law at the time your estate is settled, this deduction may or may not save estate taxes.
Bequest alternatives
In addition to adding bequest language to your will, here are a few other simple ways for you to make a bequest to us:
- Make Baystate Health Foundation a designated beneficiary of a life insurance policy.
- Make Baystate Health Foundation a designated beneficiary of an IRA or other retirement plan.
- Make Baystate Health Foundation a designated beneficiary of savings bonds.
- Instruct your bank to "pay on death" to Baystate Health Foundation some or all of a specific bank account.
- Instruct your brokerage firm to "transfer on death" to Baystate Health Foundation some or all of a specific brokerage or other financial account.
Please let us know if you have included Baystate Health Foundation in your estate plans. We would welcome the opportunity to thank you for your thoughtful gift and to confirm that we can carry out your wishes.
Lindsay Guzman, a widow, has been a supporter of Baystate Health Foundation for many years. Lindsay is in good health now, but does not want to be a financial burden to her children should she require expensive health care in the future.
Baystate Health Foundation is one of two charities to which she has been most dedicated. She would like to make a lasting gift to each of them in memory of her husband. After discussing her options with her estate planning advisor, she decides to create a residuary bequest in her will. Each charity will receive 50% of the remainder of her estate after all other obligations, such as taxes and bequests to her children and grandchildren, have been taken care of.
Benefits
- Lindsay’s assets will remain available to her should she need them.
- The revocable nature of her gift will minimize the possibility that she will ever need financial help from her children.
- If her estate is worth what she expects when it is settled, she will be able to provide generous legacy gifts to the two charities that have meant the most to her and her late husband.
- Lindsay has the satisfaction of knowing her gift to Baystate Health Foundation will provide resources for heart and vascular patient care in her and her husband's name.
