A planned estate gift is an amazing way to show your gratitude and support into the future. A planned gift can be an important part of an estate plan, providing an excellent method of reducing taxes. El Rio’s planned giving program, The El Rio Foundation Legacy Society, was established to allow donors to make larger gifts than otherwise possible without undue financial sacrifice. These types of contributions allow you to enjoy the financial benefits and recognition of such a gift, along with the knowledge that your support has made a difference into the future.

An up-to-date estate plan is one of your most effective tools for protecting the security of your family and loved ones. But, did you know that you can also use your estate plan to play a role in carrying out El Rio’s vital mission?

When you create a will or living trust, you have the ability to decide how your assets will be distributed at your passing. You can include provisions, or bequests, that indicate to whom you would like to give specific assets or amounts.

Besides naming family members and other loved ones, you can also include bequests to charitable organizations such as El Rio Foundation. When you include a gift to us in your estate plan, you join a group of key supporters, The El Rio Foundation Legacy Society, whose donations have made possible some of our first 50 years of healthcare to the community and serving more than 125,000+ people annually.

It is easy to do. Making a bequest is a simple as inserting a few sentences into your will or living trust.

• You can change your mind. Your estate plan can be changed at any time. With a bequest, you are not actually making a gift until your death. Until then, you are free to alter your plans, eliminating the worry that you might make a commitment you could later regret.
• It costs nothing now. Making a bequest costs you nothing today. Yet, it gives you the personal satisfaction of knowing that you have created a lasting legacy at El Rio Foundation. Since a bequest is a promise of a gift to be made in the future, it does not impact your current savings or day-to-day spending.

Your estate planning attorney can help you structure a gift so your wishes for your loved ones and treasured causes will be accurately fulfilled. You can include charitable bequest when you create your will or living trust, or you can add a bequest later by means of a codicil to your will or an amendment to your trust.

Just a few simple sentences, called bequest language, in your will or living trust are all that are needed.  You can give us a specific item or amount, or you can give us a percentage of what is left of your estate after others have received their share. A percentage allows your gift to remain proportional to your estate size.

Although not necessary, notifying us that we are being named in your will or trust documents helps ensure that your bequest will be executed in the manner you intended.