Bequests

Making a Bequest

To make a gift to the University of North Florida from your estate, you must sign a new will or trust instrument, add a codicil to your present will, or make an amendment to your present trust instrument. To ensure that your exact intentions are carried out, estate-planning documents should be prepared in consultation with an attorney and discussed with the Office of Planned Giving at the University of North Florida.
Bequests to the University of North Florida can include cash, securities, real estate, other property, a percentage of the residue of your estate, or all the residue of your estate.

Tax and Other Advantages of Making a Bequest

Federal Estate Tax Savings

An outright gift to the University of North Florida University from your estate—whatever the amount, and whether it is expendable or for endowment—is entirely free from federal estate taxes. This means that the university is able to use the full amount of the bequest, whereas if it were left to an individual, a significant amount (up to 55 percent) might go to estate taxes.

Other Advantages of Bequests

Giving by bequest costs nothing now, yet it may give you a great deal of satisfaction to know that your future gift will live on. Bequests are very private gifts, too. You may make a bequest anonymously and change it at any time.
With bequests of $25,000 or more, you may create a separate fund named after yourself or someone else you wish to honor. Named funds remain visible in the University of North Florida community because of the people and activities they support. As a result, such funds also encourage others to give.

Choosing How Your Bequest Will be Used

There are various options when making gifts by bequest. Here are a few for your consideration.

• Unrestricted bequests: the use of your gift is left to the discretion of the university. Such bequests are extremely valuable, as they allow the university to cope flexibly and imaginatively with future needs and organizational changes.

• Restricted bequests: support ongoing university needs such as faculty salaries, undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, and libraries. They can also be used to build and maintain facilities or to underwrite research.

• Endowed funds: provide income every year in perpetuity to carry out the designated purpose of the gift.

• For more detailed information about bequests, please e-mail Rod Grabowski at rgrabows@unf.edu or give me a call at (904) 620-2113.