There are many different ways to leave your own legacy. Some can even be completed without the help of an advisor, although you are always encouraged to consult a professional to insure that your charitable plans are consistent with your plans for other loved ones.

Review the list of options below to see how each might best serve your goals.

Will bequest

The most common way to make a legacy gift is through your Will. Just a simple sentence or two can provide for a gift that is meaningful to the good works you value and is consistent with your other estate plans. A Will bequest can be tailored in many different ways. Some choose to leave a percentage of their estate, to insure that their legacy gift always remains in the same size relative to the gifts left to loved ones and other charities. Others choose to leave a specific dollar amount, insuring a certain level of support.

Some make their legacy gift contingent on other events, such as the survival of a loved one; contingent gifts make sure that resources are passed first to loved ones, being made available to charities if heirs are no longer there to need them.

Documents that function like Wills, such as revocable living trusts, also are common places in which legacy gifts are made.

Retirement Account

Many Americans hold a significant portion of their estate in a retirement account, such as an IRA, a 401(k), or a 403(b). These can make great vehicles through which a legacy gift can be made.

First, it can be easy to make a legacy gift through a retirement account. Typically, all that needs to be done is to complete a beneficiary designation form available from the firm administering the account naming your favorite charity as one of the account's recipients after your lifetime, along with any loved ones.

Second, such a gift can save on taxes due on inherited retirement accounts. Using retirement accounts for legacy gifts can make other, more tax–favored assets available to loved ones.

Life Insurance

Life insurance can be used in a variety of ways to make a legacy gift. Some simply name their favorite charity as a beneficiary of the policy, along with any loved ones. Others donate an unneeded policy to charity, making them eligible for income tax benefits. Yet others establish a brand new policy for the sole purpose of making a legacy gift.

Charitable Remainder Trust

A charitable remainder trust is an arrangement where you can donate cash or other property and receive an income stream for the rest of your life. At the end of your lifetime, the remainder passes to the charity or charities you have named.

Such trusts offer a variety of advantages. Because property is transferred during your lifetime, you qualify for what can be a significant income tax deduction. Appreciated property can be donated without incurring capital gains taxes at the time of the gift, allowing you to potentially increase the amount of income you receive without reducing your invested principal.