Bequest Language

When helping your client with their philanthropic wishes the Coquitlam Foundation offers two services:

• Establish an Estate Fund for your client, which clearly spells out the name and purpose of the fund.
• Provide feedback on whether the bequest or the desired purpose are appropriate.

Ensuring that the bequest being left to the Coquitlam Foundation is appropriate early helps your client achieve the goals they will to achieve. For example, leaving gifts that have so many restrictions on them that they become a liability to the Foundation rather than an asset would require the Foundation to decline the gift. Also, the Foundation always desires to achieve the philanthropicgoals of your clients, which working within CRA rules and legislation. The most specific a purpose is the more difficult it is to achieve. When considering a gift in your estate, it is important to make sure that the language in your will:

• accurately reflects your wishes
• clearly and accurately identifies the charities you wish to support, or
• the purpose you wish to support has at least one local charity that can benefit from your gift.

The Coquitlam Foundation can help you avoid some common pitfalls associated with gifts that should be considered:

• The gift has overly restrictive covenants to be of benefit to the Foundation or intended charity.
• The name of the charity is inaccurate.
• What happens if the charity doesn’t exist when you die or ceases to exist in the future?
• Are there any specific instructions you wish to provide? Example are that the the gift to be used only for a capital project or an endowed or a specific purpose within a charity?

  If you have any questions when working with a client please feel free to reach out to our Executive Director at executive_director@coquitlamfoundation.com.