There are three types of bequests:
- Specific Bequest
You designate a specific dollar amount, specific percentage, or specific property to Judicial Watch.
- Residual Bequest
Your estate will pay all debts, taxes, expenses, and specific bequests. The remaining amount--the residual--will be transferred to Judicial Watch.
- Contingent Bequest
You can ask that Judicial Watch receive all or a portion of your estate only under certain circumstances. For example, you can name Judicial Watch as a beneficiary of your estate only if there are no surviving close family members. Childless couples sometimes provide for the entire estate to go to the surviving spouse, or if the spouse does not survive, to Judicial Watch.
As a reference, Judicial Watch recommends the following language for friends to use in their wills:
“I give, devise, and bequeath to Judicial Watch, Inc., 501 School Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024, the sum of _______ (or otherwise describe the gift or specify a percentage of the estate).”
Other types of Planned Giving:
- Charitable Gift Annuities
- Charitable Remainder Trusts
- Charitable Lead Trusts
- Life Insurance
- Retirement Plans
Want more information? Call 1-888-JW-ETHIC and request your copy of “How to Make a Will that Works.”
