Bequests
Easy, flexible, confident legacy giving
A donor who wishes to give part of his or her estate to a charity or charities can name the donor’s PCA Foundation donor advised fund as the charitable recipient in a will or trust or as the beneficiary of an account or annuity, and then record with the Foundation how, when, and to what charities the fund is to be distributed.
Naming the donor’s donor advised fund rather than the ultimate charities enables the donor to monitor charities and consider and reconsider charitable goals over his or her life, and change the ultimate charities and distribution amounts as frequently as the donor wishes, without the cost and difficulty of changing a will, trust, or account designation.
Peace of Mind
We make sure your bequest is distributed how you intend.
Reduce Your Taxes
Charitable bequests are deductible 100% from the taxable estate, so if you otherwise would have a taxable estate, the charitable deduction may reduce or eliminate estate taxes.
Flexibility
You can revise your distribution instructions at any time, avoiding the expense of changing or amending your legal documents.
How It Works
Inform the PCA Foundation of your current intent (not irrevocable) to name the Foundation as a beneficiary of a post-death distribution in your will or trust, or in an account designation.
Instruct your attorney to draft a will or codicil to your will, or trust or amendment to a trust, naming PCA Foundation Trust as the beneficiary of a specific, general, residual, or contingent bequest or distribution; or obtain, complete, and return a beneficiary designation form from your retirement account or annuity custodian.
Provide a schedule of grants to be made of funds the Foundation receives at death, or a designation of successor grant advisors.
Monitor your scheduled charities or designated successors, and change your grant schedule or successor designations at any time.
If you’re interested in making a charitable bequest or have further questions, contact our president, Tim Townsend (eastern U.S.), or our senior director of complex gifts, Greg Mattox (western U.S.). If you are ready to make a bequest (revocable), click to our Bequest Instructions page.
Tim Townsend
ttownsend@pcanet.org
678-825-1050
Gregory B. Mattox
gmattox@pcanet.org
678-825-1068
types of bequests
There are a number of ways you can make a bequest to the PCA Foundation.
Specific Bequest
A specific bequest is a gift of a specific asset such as real estate, a vehicle, or a gift for a specific dollar amount. For example, you may wish to leave your home or $10,000 to PCA Foundation Trust for benefit of your donor-advised fund.
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 the PCA Foundation.
Residual Bequest
A residual bequest is a gift of the balance of an estate remaining after the will or trust has made all 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 PCA Foundation Trust.
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 provide that if the relative is not alive at the time of your death, the vacation home will go to PCA Foundation Trust.
additional complex services
We make a variety of donations possible.
Charitable Remainder Trust
When you give to a PCAF Charitable Remainder Trust, you take a deduction for the gift now, the trust pays you (or beneficiaries you name) an income stream for life or a period of years, and the trust pays the remainder to your PCAF donor-advised fund for ultimate distribution to your favorite charities. Advantages include increased income that is more secure and diversified, deferral of capital gains tax on the sale of any funding asset, and an immediate accelerated charitable deduction for a future gift.
Charitable Lead Trust
A PCAF Charitable Lead Trust operates in reverse to a Charitable Remainder Trust. It pays the income stream to your PCAF donor-advised fund for ultimate distribution to your favorite charities, and pays the remainder to your heirs or other beneficiaries (or with certain kinds of CLTs, to you). Advantages may include reduced or eliminated estate and gift taxes, and increased value of charitable deductions moved to years when taxable income and marginal tax rates are higher.
Non-Cash Gifts
Appreciated private non-cash assets for giving include family and other privately-held businesses and investment funds in the form of S corporation, LLC, or limited partnership, stock options, real estate, and even cryptocurrency. Giving such assets produces the largest deductions, consisting of exclusion from capital gains (the equivalent of a deduction) plus an actual charitable deduction.