Wills and Bequests

When a donor leaves assets to charity through a will, he or she is making a bequest. The donor's estate will receive a charitable estate tax deduction at death, when the gift goes to charity.  Your bequest may be for general purposes or for a restricted purpose that you describe in your will. You may give a specific amount of money or specific assets (stock, property, land) or name the charity as the recipient of the “rest and residue” of your estate (all remaining monies after your specific bequests are fulfilled). Always make sure you give the correct legal name for the charity. The Home’s legal name is the Methodist Home of Kentucky, Inc.

Gifts of Stock in Your Will

To give securities rather than money, simply give a correct description of the securities and designate the Methodist Home of Kentucky, Inc. as the recipient. For example, “I give 100 shares of XYZ Corporation to the Methodist Home of Kentucky, Inc.” Special care should be taken to include language that covers additional shares of XYZ Corporation issued subsequent to the writing of the will due to a stock split or issued by a successor corporation in exchange for shares of XYZ Corporation. One way to address these contingencies is to gift “all of my shares of XYZ Corporation, their successors and assigns, to the Methodist Home of Kentucky, Inc.”

Gifts of Other Investments in Your Will

Similarly to a gift of stock, gifts of mutual funds, bonds, CD’s, IRA’s or other investments may be considered for a bequest to the Methodist Home of Kentucky. A correct description identifying the investment instrument should be included with the language of the bequest.