You want to make a bequest to a charity or charities in your will. When you ask your lawyer to draft the bequest clause, ask him or her to also:
Identify the correct name of the charity in a corporate database;
Verify with the CRA Charities Directorate that the Charity has charitable status;
Review the gift and investment policy of the recipient Charity (if bequeathing gifts of property other than cash);
Consider whether it is more advantageous to make some gifts while still alive (if the bequests are a large part of the estate, the tax receipt may be a lot more than the income in the year of death, thus losing out on some tax benefits);
If you want to put any restrictions on the charitable bequest, verify with the charity that the bequests are acceptable;
- Decide if you want a copy of the relevant excerpt in the will be provided to the Charity;