A charitable gift from your estate is a favored method of giving that enables you to achieve your financial goals and benefit Brown University. No other planned gift is as simple to make or as easy to change, should you ever need the assets during your lifetime.

A bequest may be right for you if:

  • You want to make a gift to Brown University.
  • You want the flexibility to change your mind.
  • You want continued access to your wealth, should you need it.
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Remembering Brown University in your will is a wonderful way for you to make a lasting gift. Large or small, your bequest will make an important contribution to our long-term strength and our ability to carry on with our activities.

But what if you don't have a will or living trust? You are not alone. Most Americans don’t have a will.

Without a will, the laws of your state will decide how your estate is divided. Typically, the probate court will divide your estate among your closest surviving family members according to a formula, and none of your estate can go to Brown University or any other charity. If you wish to have a say in how your estate is distributed, you must have a will or living trust. We encourage you to work with an experienced attorney to create a will or living trust that accomplishes your goals for your estate.


Ways to specify how we may use your bequest
You have several options for telling Brown University how we may use your bequest once we receive it. They are:

  • An unrestricted bequest – This is a gift for our general purposes. This can be the most useful kind of gift because it allows us to put your gift to the best possible use at the time we receive it.
  • A restricted bequest – This is a gift for a specific use, such as a special project or program that is important to you. It is best for you to consult with us before placing restrictions on your bequest to be sure we can carry out your wishes.
  • An endowed bequest – This is a gift where Brown University invests your donation along with the rest of our endowment. We distribute these funds in accordance with our endowment spending policy. This approach assures that your gift will continue to benefit Brown long into the future. An endowed bequest can be restricted or unrestricted.
  • An honorary bequest – This is a gift made in honor of someone else. Any form of bequest can also be an honorary bequest. We would be pleased to recognize the people you wish to honor with your gift.

Make sure we can carry out your wishes
It is very important that your bequest be accurately and clearly described in your estate plan so that we can carry out your wishes as you intended. We are pleased to consult with you regarding the terms of your bequest to make sure that we will be able to carry out your intentions. In order to avoid any possible question that your bequest is to our organization, be sure to include our full legal name and our federal tax identification number in your bequest.

Legal name: Brown University

Mailing address: Providence, RI

Tax identification number: 05-0258809
    
We are happy to provide you with sample Will or Trust Language to assist you and your attorney. You have complete flexibility to change your bequest at any time. If circumstances change in a way that makes you want to revise your gift to us, you can.

Tax benefits
Because your bequest is revocable, you do not receive an income tax charitable deduction when you create it. Rather, your estate will receive an estate tax deduction for the full value of your bequest in the year it is made. Depending on a variety of factors, including the size of your estate and estate tax law at the time your estate is settled, this deduction may or may not save estate taxes.

Bequest alternatives
In addition to adding bequest language to your will, here are a few other simple ways for you to make a bequest to us:

  • Make Brown University a designated beneficiary of a life insurance policy.
  • Make Brown University a designated beneficiary of an IRA or other retirement plan.
  • Make Brown University a designated beneficiary of savings bonds.
  • Instruct your bank to "pay on death" to Brown University some or all of a specific bank account.
  • Instruct your brokerage firm to "transfer on death" to Brown University some or all of a specific brokerage or other financial account.

Please let us know if you have included Brown University in your estate plans. We would welcome the opportunity to thank you for your thoughtful gift and to confirm that we can carry out your wishes.

Example

Catherine Hanney, a widow, has been a supporter of Brown University for many years. Catherine is in good health now, but does not want to be a financial burden to her children should she require expensive health care in the future.

Brown University is one of two charities to which she has been most dedicated. She would like to make a lasting gift to each of them in memory of her husband. After discussing her options with her estate planning advisor, she decides to create a residuary bequest in her will for each of her two favorite charities. Each charity will receive 50% of the remainder of her estate after all other obligations, such as taxes and bequests to her children and grandchildren, have been taken care of.

Benefits

  • Catherine’s assets will remain available to her should she need them.
  • The revocable nature of her gift will minimize the possibility that she will ever need financial help from her children.
  • If her estate is worth what she expects when it is settled, she will be able to provide generous legacy gifts to the two charities that have meant the most to her and her late husband.