Planned Giving

The charitable bequest is the most familiar and widely used way to benefit Scouting at some future time. It is how many donors choose to establish a legacy after their lifetime, but in a way that remains revocable at any time during their life.

Most who include Scouting in their wills often benefit their heirs at the same time. A charitable bequest is completely deductible from the estate. Depending on your needs, there are many forms a bequest to Scouting can take. These include:

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 $10,000 to the Pacific Crest Council, Scouting America.

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 the Pacific Crest Council, Scouting America.

Residual Bequest: A residual bequest is made from the balance of an estate after the will or trust has given away 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 the Pacific Crest Council, Scouting America.

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 Pacific Crest Council, Scouting America.

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.