Wills and Bequests
A Lasting Legacy
If you have a personal interest in enhancing the SFU experience for future generations, a planned bequest in your Will is something you should think about. When you want to reduce or even eliminate your final income taxes a well planned charitable bequest is ideal. You can make a gift in your Will, maintain financial security during life and disinherit the taxman.
Your legacy gift to SFU could make a world of difference. It would be a lasting contribution to our future as an endowed fund where SFU invests the capital and uses only the earned income. In this way, your fund will grow over time and outpace inflation. Income is awarded annually in the donor’s name. Ongoing scholarships and bursaries are the best examples.
Your bequest could be for capital funding that will have immediate impact. Buildings and classrooms wear out over time, and bequests that permit unrestricted use of the capital for improvements and enhancements on campus are very important to us.
You could combine lifetime giving with a future gift. If you donate to us regularly you might consider endowing your annual gift with a bequest in your will. A $10,000 bequest will provide $500 of income every year. Forever. The documents for a named fund can be established with a modest gift now. You can add to the fund when the time is right for you and ultimately with a bequest in your will.
Your gift to SFU should give you great satisfaction. As an expression of your personal values, we want you to feel that you have planned a worthwhile contribution to our future in a way that works for you.
Most of all, we want you to know that your legacy will brighten future of every student who is touched by your generosity. That’s a promise.
We welcome the opportunity to work with you and your advisors to develop a gift plan that will be personally meaningful to you and bring maximum benefit to SFU. You can consult directly with us to have a custom clause prepared for you or have your lawyer call to discuss your plans.
How to make a bequest
Whether you are considering a major revision of your current will, or you are about to have a will drafted for the first time, making a bequest to SFU is easy to do. Our guide, Gifts by Will and Will Clauses, contains suggested wording that will assist you in discussions with your lawyer. E-mail plangive@sfu.ca to request a copy.
The easiest and least expensive way to make a small change in your existing will is to add a codicil. The codicil will retain all the provisions of your will, except those which are modified by this addition. If you already have a will and are considering a bequest to SFU, the addition of a codicil should be discussed with your lawyer.
A legacy gift/bequest to SFU falls into two basic categories:
- Unrestricted, gives full discretion to SFU. If you prefer to have the Uni-versity decide how your gift will be allocated, an unrestricted gift allows SFU the most flexibility.
- Restricted, for a purpose designated by you. In making a bequest to SFU, it is common to specify the purpose for your gift. You may prefer to see your legacy for a specific faculty or student aid; for athletics or research; endowed or expendable; or given over to a fund you have supported over the years.
Because the University’s needs are ever changing, we strongly recommend that you include authorization in your will enabling the University’s Board of Governors to make changes in use of all restricted legacy gifts. SFU will only make changes in keeping as far as possible with the spirit and general intent of the gift. It is important to us to honour your intentions.
The most common types of bequests:
- Specific bequest: by which SFU receives a specific dollar amount or stated fraction of your estate or a specified gift in kind (collections, art, books, jewellery etc.)
- Residual bequest: by which SFU receives a percentage of the remainder of your estate after other specific legacies have been fulfilled (see Section I, item 10 below).
- Contingent bequest: by which SFU would receive a stated share of your estate, but only in the event of the prior death of other named beneficiaries.
- Trust remainder bequest: by which named beneficiaries receive income from a trust established in the will. Upon the death of the surviving beneficiaries or at the end of a specified term, all or part of the remaining principal will pass to SFU.
To request a copy of our brochure, Gifts by Will and Will Clauses, please e-mail plangive@sfu.ca.
