How to Donate to Charity in Your Will or Trust

Can I give to a charity in my estate plan?

Incorporating charitable giving into your Estate Plan with FastWill is straightforward. To do so, simply identify the charity or charities you wish to support and specify the donation amount, either as a fixed dollar figure or a percentage of your total estate.

Key Points:

• Specify Charity: Clearly indicate the charity or charities you want to support.
• Donation Amount: Determine the amount you wish to donate, either as a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of your total estate.
• Integration: Charitable giving can be easily integrated into your Estate Plan.

By including charitable giving in your Estate Plan, you can leave a lasting legacy and support causes that are important to you.

How are charitable gifts distributed?

Charitable donations are prioritized in your Estate Plan, ensuring they are allocated before the distribution of remaining assets to other beneficiaries. By listing your chosen charities in the Charity section of your plan, you specify the exact amount they will receive. This approach treats charitable donations separately from beneficiary designations, allowing for a clear and organized distribution of your estate.

Example:

If you plan to distribute your estate equally between two charities and three beneficiaries (like your children), you might allocate 20% of your estate to each charity. After these allocations, the remaining portion of your estate, known as the "residuary estate," would be considered. This residuary estate is effectively treated as the "new 100%" to be equally divided among your beneficiaries. Each beneficiary would receive approximately 33%.

In this example, the charities together receive 40% of your entire estate, leaving 60% to be evenly distributed among your three children. This approach ensures that each charity and each child receives an equal portion of 20%, or one-fifth, of your estate.

Note: When allocating percentages, you can only use whole numbers.

What if I want to leave my entire estate to a charity?

If you intend to leave your entire estate to a charity, you have the option to designate the charity as either a Beneficiary or Backup Beneficiary instead of specifying a particular gift amount. This ensures that your entire estate benefits the charity or charities of your choice, aligning with your philanthropic goals.

Which charities can I support?

You have the flexibility to donate to any organization recognized as a 501(c)(3). 

Do I need the charity's EIN?

While FastWill’s charity search function usually provides the EIN (Employer Identification Number) for each charity, your chosen charity may not appear in the search. In such cases, you can contact the charity directly to obtain their EIN. However, an EIN is not strictly required for making a donation through your estate plan.

How to Give to a Charity in Your Will or Trust

When setting up your Will or Trust Estate Plan via the questionnaire:

1. Choose to Add a Charitable Donation: When creating your Estate Plan or editing the "Distributions" section, you'll be prompted with "Would you like to make a planned gift to a charity you are passionate about?" Click Yes to affirm.
2. Search for the Charity: Type the name of the charity in the "Charity Name" field.
3. Select the Charity: Select the correct charity from the dropdown list. The EIN (Employer Identification Number) is included for charities listed in the dropdown.
4. Add the Charity: If your chosen charity is not listed, type the full name of the charity and click outside the box to close the dropdown menu. If needed, add the charity's EIN.
5. Specify Donation Amount: Choose % of Estate (percent of the entire estate) or Dollar Amount (a fixed dollar amount).
6. Add Another Charity (Optional): Click +Add Charitable Donation to add another charity.
7. Save and Continue: Click Save & Continue to proceed.

By following these steps, you can easily incorporate charitable giving into your Estate Plan.

How Charitable Gifts Appear in Your Documents

Last Will and Testament (Will-Based Estate Plan):

Your gifts and their recipients will be listed in the Charity section of your Last Will and Testament document, available in the Estate Plan section of your account.

Revocable Living Trust (Trust-Based Estate Plan):

Your gifts and their recipients will be listed in the Article 4A 'Gifts to Charity' section of your Revocable Living Trust document, available in the Estate Plan section of your account.

FastWill Charitable Giving 

We're committed to supporting charities and making it easy for you to support the causes you're passionate about.