“Information Bits from the Boss: Samantha provides brief answers to clients frequently asked questions”

​What if I’ve included a charity under my will and that charity does not exist as my death?
Whenever we are meeting with a client, and the client wants to include a specific bequest to charity or wants to distribute a portion of his or her estate to a charity, the question is what if that charity doesn’t exist at the time of the client’s death. Our office does try to address that in the will. Our practice is to include a provision in the will that provides if the charity is no longer in existence at the time of death, the funds will be distributed to an alternative organization or individual. A client can pick another charity, or allow the executor to select a charity as long as it has a similar mission or purpose as the original charity. I always prefer that a client specifies the charity, it makes it much easier and it uncomplicates things a lot if you name a contingent beneficiary. If you have additional questions, please contact our office.

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