Palm Springs Estate Planning Lawyer Blog
Making charitable bequests in Wills or Trusts is a common practice. However, many individuals merely name a charity and do not specify for what purpose such a gift should be earmarked. Recently, an extremely generous, if not equally frugal, librarian in New Hampshire left his entire $4 million estate to the University of New Hampshire. He stated that $100,000 must be used for the library, but did not specify how the rest of the funds must be used. The University has decided to use $2.5 million to expand a career center for students and alumni. However, the University has also decided to use $1 million to purchase a video scoreboard for the school’s football team. This decision is causing an uproar among students and community members who believe that the spirit of the gift is not being followed. The contention is that the donor would be “turning in his grave” if he knew that his money was being used to purchase a video scoreboard.
To prevent similar issues for your charitable gifts, you should leave specific instructions and directions as to how your gift must be used. If you do not, the charity has the discretion to use the funds in any way it chooses. Sample language includes, “To Charity X to be used for ___________” or “$$$$ to Charity X to establish a ______________ in my name.”
