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Planned giving
A line in a will costs nothing today and can hold a community up for a generation. Here is the exact wording, and someone to talk it through with.
It is not a will. It cannot be. In California a will has to be signed by you and witnessed by two people who are present at the same time and who are not beneficiaries — and a document that misses those formalities is not a weak will, it is not a will at all. The people who discover that are your family, after you are gone.
What this page gives you is the part that is genuinely fiddly: the exact legal name, the EIN, and standard bequest language in the forms an attorney expects. Bring it to them and what would have been a conversation from scratch becomes twenty minutes.
Four standard forms. Between them they cover almost every bequest anybody actually makes, and arriving at your attorney knowing which one you want saves most of the appointment.
You know the figure you want to leave.
I give and bequeath the sum of $______ to Chabad of Silicon Valley, a California non-profit corporation, tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3), EIN 84-3752618, with its principal office at 5580 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, CA 95118, to be used for its general charitable purposes.
You would rather the gift move with the size of the estate than be fixed years in advance. This is the form most people choose.
I give and bequeath ______ percent (______%) of my residuary estate to Chabad of Silicon Valley, a California non-profit corporation, tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3), EIN 84-3752618, with its principal office at 5580 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, CA 95118, to be used for its general charitable purposes.
Family and other gifts are provided for first, and what remains comes here.
I give and bequeath all the rest, residue and remainder of my estate to Chabad of Silicon Valley, a California non-profit corporation, tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3), EIN 84-3752618, with its principal office at 5580 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, CA 95118, to be used for its general charitable purposes.
The gift takes effect only if the people you named first are no longer living.
If none of the beneficiaries named above survive me, I give and bequeath ______ to Chabad of Silicon Valley, a California non-profit corporation, tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3), EIN 84-3752618, with its principal office at 5580 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, CA 95118, to be used for its general charitable purposes.
Most people who do this have a question they would rather ask a person than a page — whether to direct the gift, whether a retirement account is simpler than a will, whether to tell anyone. Rabbi Mendel will sit with you, and nothing said is a commitment to anything.
No, and no honest website would let you. In California a will must be signed by you and witnessed by two people who are present at the same time and who are not beneficiaries. A document that misses those formalities is not a weak will — it is not a will, and the people who find out are your family, after you are gone. What this page gives you is the exact wording to hand to an attorney, which is the part that is genuinely fiddly to get right.
For a will, yes. It is usually a short and inexpensive piece of work — most people are adding a paragraph to a will they already have, which is a codicil and takes very little time. If cost is the obstacle, say so; we would rather help you find a way than have the intention sit unwritten.
You do not need a new one. An attorney adds a codicil — a short amendment naming Chabad and the amount or share. Bring the wording from this page and it is usually a single appointment.
You can, and there is a real trade-off. A gift for general purposes can be used wherever it is needed most, which decades from now may be something nobody has thought of yet. A restricted gift honors a specific intention but can become difficult if that program no longer exists. If you want it directed, tell us and we will make sure the wording still works in twenty years.
No. People leave shares, retirement accounts, life insurance and property. Some of those are better given outside a will altogether — naming Chabad as a beneficiary on a retirement account is often simpler and more tax-efficient than a bequest, and it takes one form from your provider. Worth a conversation before you decide.
Only if you want us to. Most people tell nobody and that is entirely normal. Some are glad to be listed, and some tell us privately so we know — which does help, because knowing lets us plan honestly. Nothing is ever published without you saying so in writing.
Yes, at any time and without telling us. A bequest is revocable until it is not — that is the point of it. Nothing you do here binds you to anything.
A charitable bequest is generally deductible against the estate for federal estate tax purposes. Whether that matters to your estate depends on its size and on the law at the time, which is exactly the kind of question to put to your own advisor rather than to a website. Chabad of Silicon Valley is a California non-profit corporation, tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3), EIN 84-3752618.
Nothing on this page is legal or tax advice, and nobody here is your lawyer. It is the information your own advisor will ask for, published so you do not have to go looking for it.