A gift in your will—also called a bequest—is the most popular and easiest way to make a future gift to York University. It has no effect on your cash flow during your lifetime and significantly reduces the taxes payable by your estate. In fact, in your year of passing, you can donate up to 100% of your net income and use the charitable tax receipts to provide tax relief to your estate, which makes a bequest a powerful estate planning tool. Your gift can be a specific amount or a percentage of your estate, and the nature of the gift can vary from money to marketable securities, stock, real estate or tangible personal property, such as artwork or book collections.
Options
- Specific Bequest: Designate a fixed dollar amount or particular property to York University.
- Residual or Percentage Bequest: Designate either the residue or a percentage of your estate to York after other bequests are distributed. The advantage is that the bequest automatically adjusts in size as your estate increases or decreases over the years.
- Contingent Bequest: York only receives a bequest in the event of the death of one of the primary beneficiaries of your will.
- Testamentary Trust: A trust provision in your will allows you to provide for the ongoing needs of your spouse and family, while retaining the capital to provide a legacy to York.
Benefits
- Easy to do since your income and lifestyle today are not affected
- Peace of mind knowing your estate is arranged and your heirs are taken care of first
- Your values live on by creating a legacy that will make a lasting difference to the causes you believe in
- Reduces your estate taxes (in most cases)
- You may change your bequest at any time
- Gift can be designated to a specific area that is meaningful to you
Sample Wording
Leaving a legacy of excellence in education can be as simple as including a line such as the following
in your will:
“I give and bequeath [the sum of $ OR % OR the residue of my estate] to
York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3 Canada,
Charitable Registration #: 11930 6736 RR0001.”
Including this detailed information will ensure there is no doubt about which charity you want your donation to support. If you wish to include more specific bequest wording (e.g. to designate funds to a particular area or specific use), please inform us of your wishes to ensure that it will be possible for the University to honour your intentions in the future.
Contact Us
If you are interested in leaving a gift in your will to York University, please get in touch with us at 416-650-8221 or legacy@yorku.ca. We can help you explore options and provide you with further information. Thank you for considering York in your estate plans.
This information is not intended as a substitution for professional financial advice. If you are considering a planned gift,
please consult your tax and legal advisors.