Gifts By Will or Trust

Bequests—gifts by will or trust—are the simplest way to provide for NPCA in your estate plans. You can include NPCA in your will or trust in several different ways:

• Specific Bequests
  An outright bequest designates that a specific amount be transferred as a gift from your estate to NPCA, all of which will be deductible for federal estate tax purposes.
• Proportional Bequests
  Giving a percentage of your estate ensures that the gift will remain in proportion to other bequests. Since few of us can anticipate the value of our assets at death, giving a percentage of your estate will retain flexibility.
• Residual Bequests
  The “residue” refers to all property available after other terms of the will or trust are satisfied. Residual bequests may be small or large, but in either case, you will have the assurance that your loved ones will be provided for before any charitable dispositions are made.
• Contingent Bequests
  A contingent bequest names NPCA as the recipient of an amount or portion of your will or trust should another beneficiary not survive you.
• Leaving an Income or Life Estate for a Loved One
  If your property will be needed to ensure a comfortable lifestyle for a loved one, consider leaving the use of your property to that person for their lifetime. At that person's death, the property will be distributed to NPCA, as you specify in your will or trust. Or, you may set aside property for a period of years, generating income for a specific purpose such as the education of children or grandchildren until a specific age. At the end of the period, all or a portion of the property could pass to NPCA, as you have specified.
• Suggested Language
  To include NPCA in your estate plans, simply insert the following into your will or trust: "I give (specific amount, percentage, or residue) to the National Parks Conservation Association, having its principal offices at 1300 19th St., N.W., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036, for its general purposes."

For our free brochure, "How to Make a Will that Works" or for more information, contact a gift planning officer toll-free at 1-877-468-5775 (giftplanning@npca.org).