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Stanford
Giving

Good Counsel: The many benefits of bequests

Abigail Thomas

By Abigail Orozco, Associate Director of Medical Center Development, Office of Planned Giving

Estate planning may sound overwhelming, but it can be one of the best and most meaningful ways to ensure a lasting impact on causes close to your heart. In the feature story of this issue of Remember Stanford, Constance Whiteside, ’74, and her husband, Randall Yim, ’74, shared why—and how—they included Stanford in their estate plan to create an undergraduate scholarship fund that will benefit future generations of students. Working with our Office of Planned Giving, they included language in their living trust to establish a named endowed fund so that, after their lifetimes, beneficiaries of their generous gift will know who made their scholarship possible.

Planning a bequest

While there are many factors to consider when planning a gift to Stanford, establishing a bequest can be fairly straightforward. One option is to include language in your will or living trust noting that you wish to leave a portion of your estate to the university. You may also designate Stanford as a beneficiary of a retirement account or life insurance policy. Our Planned Giving team can help ensure that the provision you are including for Stanford is captured accurately. We recommend that you work with an estate attorney when planning to designate Stanford as a beneficiary, and we are happy to provide sample language that describes your intended gift for you to review with your attorney.

Envisioning a purpose

One of the best things about a bequest is having the flexibility to decide how your future gift will be used. You may choose to leave an unrestricted gift to help the university meet its most pressing needs. Or you might designate a restricted gift for a specific school or purpose, such as education, athletics, or research. Another option is to create an expendable fund, the entirety of which can be spent on a designated purpose when it is received. Alternatively, you might envision an endowed fund to last in perpetuity (note that endowed funds have minimum required amounts).

Flexibility is key

Because the future is unpredictable, it can be hard to know how much Stanford will realize from a bequest—or even to predict the future needs of the university. When factoring Stanford into your estate plans, consider that circumstances may change over long periods of time, and allow flexibility to ensure that Stanford will be able to carry out your intentions and use your gift over the long term to accomplish your goals.

We’re here to help

No matter what purpose or cause at Stanford is most important to you, the Office of Planned Giving is ready to work with you or your advisors. Please call us at (650) 725-4358 with questions or for assistance with bequest language. Learn more about estate planning and bequests.