BEQUESTS
Creating a legacy at Chatham

Generous bequests throughout Chatham's 130-year history have strengthened the College. For each new generation of Chatham students, names like Dilworth, Mellon, Rea and Laughlin have become synonymous with the excellence of College facilities and programs, thanks to significant bequests directed to Chatham University.

A bequest is an irrevocable transfer by will of securities, real estate, tangible personal property, or other assets from the deceased to an individual or charity. Donors typically make outright bequests to charity, but they can also make them in the form of a planned gift. For bequests to charity, the donor’s estate earns an estate tax deduction equal to the value of the gift to the charity.

A prerequisite for any bequest is a will. Approximately one out of every 10 American does not have a will and testament, yet this document is the only way to ensure that the most important decisions about your family's lives are carried out. An attorney who specializes in estate planning knows the right questions to ask and the best ways to help you accomplish your goals through a final will and testament. A bequest to the College may also help reduce your federal estate tax liability.

Bequests to Chatham can include cash, securities, real estate, other property, a percentage of the residue of your estate, or all the residue of your estate.

BENEFITS TO THE DONOR

An outright gift to Chatham from your estate—whatever the amount, and whether it is expendable or for endowment—is entirely free from federal estate taxes. This means that the College is able to use the full amount of the bequest, whereas if it were left to an individual, a significant amount (up to 55 percent) might go to estate taxes.

Giving by bequest costs nothing now, yet it may give you a great deal of satisfaction to know that your future gift will live on. With bequests over $25,000 you may create a separate fund named after yourself or someone else you wish to honor. Named funds remain visible in the Chatham community because of the people and activities they support. As a result, such funds also encourage others to give. Bequests can be very private gifts, too. You may make a bequest anonymously and change it at any time.