Some recent surveys have suggested that almost 89 % of American households contribute to charity, yet only about 8 % make a charitable bequest.  Perhaps the primary reason more people do not make bequests has to do with planning. 

A good estate plan, including a well-designed last will and testament, will preserve assets for designated loved ones, will protect your estate from unnecessary taxes, and can create a legacy that survives well beyond your lifetime. 

Sometimes we tend to have an “all or nothing” attitude about estate planning—we plan on leaving everything to an heir or everything to a charity.  Good financial planning can do both.  You can arrange to help those you love while also helping All Souls for years to come.

More than half of all Americans die without a will.  If you don’t make decisions about how your money and assets will be divided when you die, the government (through estate taxes and others taxes) will be happy to decide for you.  You can better protect your assets for your loved ones and help All Souls by taking the time to make a will.

A bequest in a will is the simplest and most common planned gift.  It can be an outright monetary bequest, a percentage of your estate, a percentage of the “rest, reside and remainder” of your estate after a number of other bequests have been fulfilled, or a specific asset such as personal or real property.