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Wills & Bequests

Create your enduring statement of generosity and leave an indelible mark on our community in areas you care about passionately through a bequest to the Community Foundation.

The benefits:

How it Works:

A bequest is one of the easiest gifts to make. With the help of your financial advisor, you can include language in your will or trust specifying a gift be made to the Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville as part of your estate plan.

A bequest can be made in several ways:

Types of Bequests

There are a number of ways you can make a bequest to Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville.

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 Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville.

Percentage Bequest

Another kind of specific bequest involves leaving a specific percentage of your overall estate to charity. For example, you may wish to leave 10% of your estate to Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville.

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 charity. For example, you may wish to leave 30% of the residue of your estate to Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville.

Contingent Bequest

A contingent bequest is made to charity only if the purpose of the primary bequest cannot be met. For example, you could leave specific property, such as a vacation home, to a relative, but the bequest language could provide that if the relative is not alive at the time of your death, the vacation home will go to Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville.

Bequest Benefits

A bequest is generally a revocable gift, which means it can be changed or modified at any time. You can choose to designate that a bequest be used for a general or specific purpose so you have the peace of mind knowing that your gift will be used as intended. Bequests are exempt from federal estate taxes. If you have a taxable estate, the estate tax charitable deduction may offset or eliminate estate taxes, resulting in a larger inheritance for your heirs.

Bequest Language

In order to make a bequest, you should speak with your attorney. Your attorney can help you include a bequest to Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville in your estate plan. We have provided some basic bequest language to assist you and your attorney.

Specific Bequest

Bequest of a Specific Dollar Amount

I hereby give, devise and bequeath _________ and No/100 dollars ($DOLLARS) to Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville, a nonprofit organization located at PO Box 332, Huntsville AL 35804, Federal Tax ID #26-3750673, for Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville's general use and purpose.

Bequest of Specific Personal Property

I hereby give, devise and bequeath DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY to Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville, a nonprofit organization located at PO Box 332, Huntsville AL 35804, Federal Tax ID #26-3750673, for Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville's general use and purpose.

Bequest of Specific Real Estate

I hereby give, devise and bequeath all of the right, title and interest in and to the real estate located at ADDRESS OR DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY to Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville, a nonprofit organization located at PO Box 332, Huntsville AL 35804, Federal Tax ID #26-3750673, for Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville's general use and purpose.

Percentage Bequest

If you are considering making a bequest of a percentage of your estate to Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville, we recommend the following language:

I hereby give, devise and bequeath ____ percent (___%) of my total estate, determined as of the date of my death, to Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville, a nonprofit organization located at PO Box 332, Huntsville AL 35804, Federal Tax ID #26-3750673, for Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville's general use and purpose.

Residual Bequest

I hereby give, devise and bequeath to Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville, a nonprofit organization located at PO Box 332, Huntsville AL 35804, Federal Tax ID #26-3750673, ALL OR A PERCENTAGE of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate to be used for Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville's general use and purpose.

Contingent Bequest

If (primary beneficiary) does not survive me, then I hereby give, devise and bequeath to Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville, a nonprofit organization located at PO Box 332, Huntsville AL 35804, Federal Tax ID #26-3750673, DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY to be used for Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville's general use and purpose.

Restricted Bequests

If you are considering a bequest but would like to ensure that your bequest will be used for a specific purpose, please let us know. We would be happy to work with you and your attorney to help you identify ways to give and meet your charitable objectives. We will also work with you and your attorney to craft language to accomplish your goals.

If you are making a restricted bequest, we recommend that your attorney include the following provision to give Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville flexibility should it no longer be possible for Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville to use your gift as you originally intended:

If, in the judgment of the Board of Directors of Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville, it shall become impossible for Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville to use this bequest to accomplish the specific purposes of this bequest, Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville may use the income and principal of this gift for such purpose or purposes as the Board determines is most closely related to the restricted purpose of my bequest.