Bequests
Consider a Bequest in Your Estate Planning
A bequest is a gift from your estate. It could be a transfer of cash, securities or other property. You can make a bequest to St. Luke’s Health Foundation by including language in your will or living trust, leaving a portion of your estate to St. Luke’s, or by designating St. Luke’s as a beneficiary of your retirement account or life insurance policy.
A living trust is a written legal document through which your assets are placed into a trust for your benefit during your lifetime and then transferred to designated beneficiaries at your death by your chosen representative, called a "successor trustee." For details on creating a living trust, please contact your attorney or call us at (208) 505-2981 for a list of planned giving attorneys in the area.
An irrevocable bequest intention is a legally binding pledge that names St. Luke’s Health Foundation as a beneficiary of a specific dollar amount in one’s will or estate plan.
St. Luke’s Health Foundation may recognize and count irrevocable intentions where donors have included St. Luke’s in their estate plans, provided that such donors:
- Are age 70 or older at the time of the gift,
- Sign a written pledge agreement that makes their commitment legally binding and irrevocable, and
- Own sufficient assets to satisfy the amount committed, as best as St. Luke’s can ascertain.
Donors who wish to make an irrevocable bequest intention could be eligible for facility naming opportunities or other recognition.
Although St. Luke’s may provide an acknowledgement of the pledge, per IRS regulations a charitable gift receipt will not be provided until the pledge is satisfied.
Share Your Legacy
A bequest to St. Luke’s can be made for a specific amount, for a percentage of your estate or for all or a portion of what is left after you have made bequests to your family. To make a gift to St. Luke’s from your estate, you can add a codicil to your present will or make an amendment to your present trust instrument.
Alternatively, you can designate St. Luke’s as a beneficiary of a retirement plan or life insurance policy. To do so, contact the retirement plan administrator or life insurance company and complete the appropriate beneficiary designation form.
Sample Bequest Language
“I give to St. Luke’s Health Foundation, a non-profit Idaho charitable corporation, the sum of $____ or ___% of______ to be used for the purpose of supporting (any specific purpose here). However, if in any event the specific purpose should no longer be available or appropriate, I give to the St. Luke’s Health Foundation Board of Directors or its designee, the authority to use the sum for any other of its related charitable purposes.”
St. Luke’s Health Foundation is a tax exempt 501 (C) (3) charitable organization under the Internal Revenue Code (tax identification number: #81-0600973).