Large Gifts & Estate Planning

Flexible and popular methods of achieving your charitable goals and building a legacy are to create a bequest through your will or name the City of Irvine or the Irvine Community Alliance Fund (the Fund) as a beneficiary of a retirement plan. Bequests are gifts that come directly to the City (or the Fund) at the end of your life, they can be revised at any time, and they are tax deductible. Bequests are typically made in one of the following forms:

  • A specified dollar amount.
  • Specific assets, such as securities, real estate, or tangible personal property.
  • Retirement account assets, consisting of any benefits remaining in your retirement plans.
  • A residuary bequest, in which the City (or the Fund) receives all or a percentage of the
  • remainder of your estate after all other obligations have been met.
  • A contingent bequest, in which the City (or the Fund) becomes the beneficiary only if the named beneficiary is unable to accept the bequest.

An existing will or trust can be amended to make a gift without rewriting the entire document.  Your attorney can prepare a simple document, called a codicil, which adds a new bequest while reaffirming the other terms of your will. 

Similarly, an attorney can prepare an amendment to a revocable trust to add the City (or the Fund) as a beneficiary.

*Sample bequest language:"I, [name], of [city, state, zip], give devise, and bequeath to the City of Irvine in Irvine, California, [written amount or percentage of the estate or description of property] for its unrestricted use and purpose [or designated to the City program of your choice]. I instruct that all of my charitable gifts shall be made, to the extent possible, from property that constitutes 'income in respect of decedent' as that term is defined in the Internal Revenue Code."

Charitable Gift Annuities

A charitable gift annuity is a simple contract through which a donor (and/or his or her designated beneficiary) is provided with a stream of fixed payments for life in exchange for a gift to the City (or the Fund).  Under this arrangement, cash or securities are transferred to the City (or the Fund), which then pays you or your beneficiary fixed income for life.  Upon the death of the last beneficiary, the remaining balance passes to the City (or the Fund).