Planning - Types of Gifts

The term “charitable bequest” describes anything you give or leave to charity from your estate through a will or trust. Your estate is any property, money, or personal belongings you have at the time of your death. Although most people are not wealthy, most do leave an estate when they die. Even someone with a modest estate may leave a bequest to Franciscan University.

Some reasons you may choose to leave a bequest:

• It is not payable until death, so it does not affect your assets or cash flow during your lifetime.

• It is revocable: You can change the provisions in your will or trust at any time.

• It is private: Your will is not filed or made public until your death.

• It may enable you to make a much larger gift than you could at the present moment.

Request a Charitable Bequest

There is an easy way you can guarantee Franciscan University students will get the help they need. It has proven effective with tremendous results. You can request your attorney draft or revise your will to include a bequest to Franciscan University.

You can leave a gift to Franciscan University in your Will or Trust. It’s not a new discovery. People have been doing it for hundreds of years.

Imagine the feeling you’ll have knowing the mission of Franciscan University — this place you’ve loved and supported during your lifetime — will continue because of your stewardship long after you’ve gone on to the safety of your Eternal Reward.

A charitable bequest is a way to remember Franciscan University in your Will or Trust that will allow our students to benefit from your excellent stewardship of your resources.

Here are some examples:

• Suppose you’d like to leave a certain sum of money:

  • “I hereby give, devise, and bequeath to Franciscan University of Steubenville, 1235 University Blvd., Steubenville, Ohio 43952, a tax exempt organization, free of encumbrance, the sum of $_____________ for its general use and purposes.”

• Suppose you’d like to leave certain property:

  • “I hereby give, devise, and bequeath to Franciscan University of Steubenville, 1235 University Blvd., Steubenville, Ohio 43952, a tax exempt organization, free of encumbrance, the following specifically described property (securities, bonds, real estate, or personal property), for its general use and purposes.”

• What if you’d like to make sure Franciscan University receives a certain percentage of your estate? You could accomplish this in the following manner:

  • “I give, devise, and bequeath to Franciscan University of Steubenville, 1235 University Blvd., Steubenville, Ohio 43952, a tax exempt organization, free of encumbrance, _____________ percent of my estate, for its general use and purposes.”

• Suppose you’d like to leave whatever remains in your estate (is leftover) after you’ve directed who should receive other items:

  • “All the rest, residue, and remainder of any property of whatsoever kind or nature, real, personal, or mixed, and wheresoever situated, together with any property over which I may have the right to exercise any power or powers of appointment, intending by this clause to exercise such powers, I hereby give, devise, and bequeath to Franciscan University of Steubenville, 1235 University Blvd., Steubenville, Ohio 43952, a tax exempt organization, free of encumbrance, for its general use and purposes.

• What if you feel you’ve got everything planned out already and financially there seems to be no room for Franciscan University students to benefit? What if you have mentioned a friend or relative in your Will or Trust but that person passes away before you do? You could revise the Will or Trust to benefit Franciscan University just in case that happens:

  • “I hereby give and bequeath the sum of $_______________ to my (friend, son, brother, aunt, etc.). However, in the event that he/she should predecease me, I direct that this bequest be made, free of encumbrance, to Franciscan University of Steubenville, 1235 University Blvd., Steubenville, Ohio 43952, a tax exempt organization, for its general use and purposes.”

• What if you don’t want to go to all the trouble of re-writing your Will? You can ask your attorney to draft a codicil. A codicil is a short addition (page or two) to the Will that changes something specific in order to achieve your purpose.

Any of the examples above could be done by making a codicil to an existing Will or an amendment to a Trust. A charitable bequest is a gift of assets to Franciscan University. You may direct any or all of your property to whomever you wish. In order to do this through a Will or Trust you will need a good attorney.

Please Note: The examples above are intended to explain how to make a bequest to Franciscan University. Do not try this at home. Please consult an attorney to draft your Will or Trust or to make changes to it. If you do not have an attorney please contact the director of planned giving and he will assist you in locating one.