What are the benefits of making a bequest?

• You leave a lasting legacy to be remembered
• You lessen the burden of taxes on your family
• You may receive estate tax savings

How do I make a bequest?

A bequest is one of the easiest gifts to make. With the help of an advisor, you can include language in your will or trust specifying a gift be made to Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit as part of your estate plan.

Suggested Bequest Language

An excellent way for you to support Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit’s mission is to leave us a bequest in your will, living trust or with a codicil. One significant benefit of making a gift by bequest is that it allows you to continue to use the property you will leave to charity during your life. Another benefit is that you are able to leave a lasting legacy.

What are my options?

There are a number of ways you can make a bequest to Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit.

• You can gift a specific dollar amount or asset
  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 $25,000 to Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit
• You can gift a percentage of your estate
  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 Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit.
• You can gift from the balance or residue of your estate
  Residual Bequest. A residual bequest is made from the balance of an estate after the will or trust has given away to 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 Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit.
• You can make a beneficiary designation of certain assets
  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 Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit.

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.

Contact Us

Please contact our President & CEO, Kim Cross, at kcross@metrodetroitanimals.org or 313-943-2697 ext. 1005 if you have any questions about how to make a bequest to Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit or to request any additional information that might be helpful to you and your attorney as you consider making a bequest to us.

If you have included a bequest for Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit in your estate plan, please contact us to let us know. We would like to thank you and recognize you for your gift.