Bequests

Remembering Williams College in your will is a wonderful way for you to make a lasting gift. Large or small, your bequest will make an important contribution to the long-term strength of the college and our ability to continue to set the bar for excellence in a liberal arts education.

But what if you don't have a will or living trust? You are not alone. Most Americans don’t have a will.

If you die without a will, the laws of your state will decide how your estate is divided. Typically, the probate court will divide your estate among your closest surviving family members according to a formula, and none of your estate can go to Williams College or any other charity. If you wish to have a say in how your estate is distributed, you must have a will or living trust. We encourage you to work with an experienced attorney to create a will or living trust that accomplishes your goals for your estate.

Ways you can define a charitable gift in your estate plan
There are several ways that you can define the amount of your charitable gift to Williams College. They are:

• A gift of a particular amount of money.  For example, you give $25,000.
• A gift of a specific item or items.  For example, you give 1,000 shares of ABC Corporation.
• A gift that will be made only if one or more conditions are met.  For example, you give $25,000 provided your spouse does not survive you.
• A gift that will be made from the remainder of your estate once all other bequests, debts, and taxes have been paid.  For example, you give 25% of the remainder of your estate. Often called a "residuary bequest," this approach assures that your family will be taken care of before your estate makes a bequest to Williams.  

Ways to specify how we may use your bequest
You have several options for telling Williams how to use your bequest once we receive it:

• An unrestricted bequest – This is a gift for the general purposes of the college. This can be the most useful kind of gift because it allows us to put your gift to the best possible use at the time we receive it.
• A restricted bequest – This is a gift for a specific use, such as a special project or program that is important to you. If you have a specific use in mind for your future bequest contact the Gift Planning Office. It is important to discuss the intended impact of your bequest to ensure the college both understands and can honor your charitable intent.
• An endowed bequest – This is a gift where Williams invests your donation along with the rest of our endowment. The college will distribute these funds in accordance with our endowment spending policy. This approach assures that your gift will continue to benefit the college in perpetuity. An endowed bequest can be restricted or unrestricted.
• An honorary bequest – This is a gift made in honor of someone else. Any form of bequest can also be an honorary bequest. We would be pleased to recognize the people you wish to honor with your gift.

Make sure we can carry out your wishes
It is very important that your bequest is accurately and clearly described in your estate plan so that we can carry out your wishes as you intended. We are pleased to consult with you regarding the terms of your bequest to make sure that we will be able to carry out your intentions. In order to avoid any possible question that your bequest is to our organization, be sure to include our full legal name and our federal tax identification number in your bequest.

Legal name: President and Trustees of Williams College

Tax identification number: 04-2104847

    
We are happy to provide you with sample bequest language to assist you and your attorney. 

You have complete flexibility to change your bequest at any time.  If circumstances change in a way that makes you want to revise your gift to us, you can.

Tax benefits
Because your bequest is revocable, you do not receive an income tax charitable deduction when you create it. Rather, your estate will receive an estate tax deduction for the full value of your bequest in the year it is made. Depending on a variety of factors, including the size of your estate and estate tax law at the time your estate is settled, this deduction may or may not save estate taxes.  

Bequest alternatives
In addition to adding bequest language to your will, here are a few other simple ways for you to make a bequest to us:

• Make Williams College a designated beneficiary of a life insurance policy.
• Make Williams College a designated beneficiary of an IRA or other retirement plan.
• Make Williams College a designated beneficiary of your donor advised fund (DAF) remainder.
• Make Williams College a designated beneficiary of savings bonds.
• Instruct your bank to "pay on death" to Williams College some or all of a specific bank account.
• Instruct your brokerage firm to "transfer on death" to Williams College some or all of a specific brokerage or other financial account.

Please let us know if you have included Williams College in your estate plans.  We would welcome the opportunity to thank you for your thoughtful future gift and to confirm that we can carry out your wishes. By remembering Williams in yur estate plans you will also be eligible to join The Ephraim Williams Society.