Gifts by Will or Trust
A charitable gift from your estate is a method of giving that enables you to achieve your financial goals and support The UC Theatre. No other planned gift is as simple to make or as easy to change, should you ever need the assets during your lifetime.
Is a Bequest Right for You?
A bequest may be right for you if:
- You want to make a gift to The UC Theatre.
- You want the flexibility to revise your plans as your circumstances change.
- You want continued access to your wealth during your lifetime.
- You want to prioritize your financial security and provide for loved ones before making a charitable gift.
Remembering The UC Theatre in your will is a meaningful way for you to make a lasting gift. Large or small, your bequest will make an important contribution to our long-term strength and our ability to present live music and provide tuition-free workforce training for young adults through Concert Career Pathways (CCP).
Don’t Have a Will or Living Trust?
Creating a plan is an opportunity to protect the people you love and support the causes that matter to you.
Without a will, state laws generally determine who inherits assets that are not otherwise directed through a trust, joint ownership, or beneficiary designation. Typically, the probate court will divide your estate among your closest surviving family members according to a formula, and none of your estate can go to The UC Theatre or any other charity.
If you wish to have a say in how your estate is distributed, you must have a will or living trust. We encourage you to work with an experienced attorney to create a will or living trust that accomplishes your goals for your estate.
Ways You Can Define a Charitable Gift in Your Estate Plan
There are several ways to structure your charitable gift to The UC Theatre. Options include:
- A specific dollar amount. For example, you leave $25,000 to The UC Theatre.
- Specific property or assets. For example, you leave 1,000 shares of ABC Corporation stock to The UC Theatre.
- A gift contingent on certain conditions. For example, you leave $25,000 to The UC Theatre only if your spouse does not survive you. Your attorney can help you document any conditions clearly.
- A share of your remaining estate. For example, you leave 25% of what remains after other bequests, debts, and taxes have been paid. Often called a “residuary bequest,” this approach allows your charitable gift to reflect the size of your remaining estate after other obligations and gifts have been fulfilled.
Support the future of live music.
Ways to Specify How We May Use Your Bequest
You have several options for telling The UC Theatre how we may use your bequest once we receive it.
Unrestricted Bequest
A gift that supports The UC Theatre’s overall mission. It gives us the flexibility to direct your generosity where it is needed most when we receive it.
Restricted Bequest
A gift for a specific purpose, such as a special project or program (Concert Career Pathways) that is important to you. It is best for you to consult with us before placing restrictions on your bequest to be sure we can carry out your wishes.
Honorary or Memorial Bequest
A gift made in honor or memory of someone else. Either an unrestricted or restricted bequest can include this dedication. We would welcome a conversation about how to recognize the person you wish to honor.
Make Sure We Can Carry Out Your Wishes
It is very important that your bequest be accurately and clearly described in your estate plan so that we can carry out your wishes as you intended. We are pleased to consult with you regarding the terms of your bequest. To avoid any possible question that your bequest is to our organization, be sure to include our full legal name and federal tax identification number, listed below.
We are happy to provide you with sample bequest language to assist you and your attorney. You have complete flexibility to change your bequest at any time. If circumstances change in a way that makes you want to revise your gift to us, you can.
Information for Your Plans
Share these details with your attorney, financial advisor, or estate-planning service when arranging your gift.
Legal Name: Berkeley Music Group
Doing business as: The UC Theatre
Tax ID: 46-1517597
Office and mailing address: 2030 University Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704
Tax Benefits
Because your bequest is revocable, you do not receive an income tax charitable deduction when you create it. Rather, your estate will receive an estate tax deduction for the full value of your bequest in the year it is made. Depending on a variety of factors, including the size of your estate and estate tax law at the time your estate is settled, this deduction may or may not save estate taxes.
Bequest Alternatives
In addition to adding bequest language to your will, here are a few other simple ways to make a bequest to us:
- Make The UC Theatre a designated beneficiary of a life insurance policy.
- Make The UC Theatre a designated beneficiary of an IRA or other retirement plan.
- Make The UC Theatre a designated beneficiary of savings bonds.
- Instruct your bank to “pay on death” to The UC Theatre some or all of a specific bank account.
- Instruct your brokerage firm to “transfer on death” to The UC Theatre some or all of a specific brokerage or other financial account.
Please let us know if you have included The UC Theatre in your estate plans. We would love to thank you for your thoughtful gift and to confirm that we can carry out your wishes.
Let Us KnowExample
Terry Yates, a widow, has been a supporter of The UC Theatre for many years. Terry is in good health now, but does not want to be a financial burden to her children should she require expensive health care in the future.
The UC Theatre is one of two charities to which she has been most dedicated. She would like to make a lasting gift to each of them in memory of her husband. After discussing her options with her estate planning advisor, she decides to create a residuary bequest in her will for each of her two favorite charities. Each charity will receive 50% of the remainder of her estate after all other obligations, such as taxes and bequests to her children and grandchildren, have been taken care of.
- Terry’s assets will remain available to her should she need them.
- The revocable nature of her gift will minimize the possibility that she will ever need financial help from her children.
- If her estate is worth what she expects when it is settled, she will be able to provide generous legacy gifts to the two charities that have meant the most to her and her late husband.
How Your Gift Helps
Your planned gift to The UC Theatre will help sustain live music and open doors to careers in the industry for generations to come. Your generosity will help:
Build community through live music
Expand access to tuition-free career training and paid work experience
Nurture the next generation of live music industry leaders
Talk to Us
We would welcome a conversation about your giving goals and how you can support The UC Theatre’s future. If you’re exploring a legacy gift or have already included us in your plans, please get in touch.
Development Team · 510-356-4000 ext. 104
development@theuctheatre.orgDavid M. Mayeri, Founder & CEO
david@theuctheatre.orgGloria Tajtaj, Development Manager
gloria@theuctheatre.org