Bequest

Bequests to the Gainesville Fisher House Foundation are generally exempt from federal and state inheritance taxes. Theses charitable bequests are subject to limited deduction and may be planned along with a life income gift to make a much more meaningful gift than you may have thought possible.

Depending on the structure of your estate and whether or not it is subject to estate taxes your bequest to the Gainesville Fisher House Foundation can be planned without adverse tax consequences. Your plan for bequests to the Gainesville Fisher House Foundation may enable your estate to claim a charitable deduction. This should be coordinated through estate planning professionals.

Your Choice

The Gainesville Fisher House Foundation looks toward the future of the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center Fisher House and its continuing needs. Although our current need is to directly fund the cost of building the house itself, in the future the needs will be for the families, veterans and military personnel who will utilize the house. You can plan now to assist us with the endowment of the house or if the bequest occurs prior to construction, directly to building

Types of Bequests to Consider:

General bequest: Most donors plan a bequest in the form of a general-use gift. A general bequest can be a dollar amount or percentage of your estate. This general support is most helpful to us because it allows us to direct funds to building this facility.

Specific bequest: You designate a specific dollar amount or specific asset (e.g., stocks, bonds, real estate, mutual fund shares, etc.) to a specific beneficiary. Be mindful if you no longer own the property the beneficiary receives nothing.

Residuary bequest: You designate all or a portion of your estate's residue (what is left after payment of taxes, debts, settlement costs have been satisfied) to a beneficiary or beneficiaries.

Contingent bequest: Can be a general, specific or residuary bequest that designates a contingent beneficiary if the primary beneficiary predeceases you.

Restricted bequest: Sometimes a donor may wish to restrict their bequest to a particular area of need for the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center Fisher House. You may want to designate funds for emergency requests, refitting the hard goods within the house to maintain its comfort. Whatever you chose, we can work with you to create that particular endowment.

What If I Have Already Written My Will or Trust?

If you have already made out your will and wish to amend it to include the Gainesville Fisher House Foundation you can consider using codicil language to make your desired changes. Your attorney can prepare a codicil which adds a new bequest while reaffirming the other terms of your will. If you have created a revocable trust you can make changes through an amendment.

Already Planning a Bequest?

If you are planning a bequest, you may wish to consider the financial benefits of a life income trust. Many people have realized significant advantages by using a major portion of a planned bequest for the establishment of such a trust. If you would like to see how a life income trust might benefit your specific situation, the Gift Planning Program would be happy to prepare a financial analysis for you. Your bequest should be carefully planned to provide the maximum benefits for both your family and our environmental work.

Please keep us informed of your plans.