# Putting A Charity As a Beneficiary To Some Accounts. Do they need to be notified in advance?



## WhatInThe (Apr 6, 2020)

I'm putting a charity as a designated beneficiary on some of my financial accounts using the forms they provide. Do they need to be notified in advance or as long as I have a will the executor or lawyer will make sure they get it?


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## Old Dummy (Apr 6, 2020)

Having had a will made out a year ago, here is what I learned: A designated beneficiary will get what you will to them. That comes first, as I understand it.

Or, as I have mine arranged, I have my Schwab account beneficiary as part of my estate. Then my will directs my estate (or a percentage of it) to go to my chosen charity.

But, for sure, I would run your situation past a lawyer. Situations are different, as are state laws.


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## Victor (Apr 7, 2020)

I have done this. No they don't have to be notified in advance but they should be told before long.
The money will go into a general fund unless you specify otherwise, but they are
not legally bound to your special request. Of course, be sure the charity will be around
after you are. This may vary by state and of course by nation.
 .
Lawyers say to include them in your will, but you can also write them into your investments that use a TOD
form


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## fmdog44 (Apr 7, 2020)

WhatInThe said:


> I'm putting a charity as a designated beneficiary on some of my financial accounts using the forms they provide. Do they need to be notified in advance or as long as I have a will the executor or lawyer will make sure they get it?


That is a question for your lawyer only. I am set for "my estate" will go to my charity set up through my lawyer. That means everything goes to the charity. No debate. No challenges from greedy family creatures.


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## Babycakes (Apr 8, 2020)

fmdog44 said:


> That is a question for your lawyer only. I am set for "my estate" will go to my charity set up through my lawyer. That means everything goes to the charity. No debate. No challenges from greedy family creatures.


What’s a good charity? Anybody have any good suggestions and why you feel the way you do?


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## Butterfly (Apr 8, 2020)

If I were going to leave my estate to charity, it would be the Animal Humane  Society.  They do wonderful work here in finding homes for animals who might otherwise be euthanized or dumped.  If I could direct where in particular at least part of the money went, it would be to expand their spay and neuter program for animals of low income families and/or to expand their reduced fee/free veterinary services for pets belonging to families who could not otherwise afford such care.


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## Babycakes (Apr 8, 2020)

Butterfly said:


> If I were going to leave my estate to charity, it would be the Animal Humane  Society.  They do wonderful work here in finding homes for animals who might otherwise be euthanized or dumped.  If I could direct where in particular at least part of the money went, it would be to expand their spay and neuter program for animals of low income families and/or to expand their reduced fee/free veterinary services for pets belonging to families who could not otherwise afford such care.


Thank you for your information....


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## OneEyedDiva (Apr 27, 2020)

Babycakes said:


> What’s a good charity? Anybody have any good suggestions and why you feel the way you do?


I've been donating to St. Jude for several years. Now they get my annual RMD.  I donate my obligatory Zakat (Islamic charity) to a couple of different Islamic organizations. The Zakat goes to Muslims in need but they have other categories of donations that are used to help anyone in need, regardless of religious affiliation (ie: disaster victims, homeless and the hungry).  I check any charity I am considering using The Charity Navigator. They rate charities and show how much of the funds collected actually go for the charities' causes, how much for advertising as well as several other useful pieces of information about the charities. Here's the St. Jude page (as an example, not suggesting you choose this to donate to).  You can search charities via this page.
https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=12847


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## Em in Ohio (Apr 28, 2020)

Due to limited finances, my only donations have been to animal spay-neutering programs, the children's arthritis foundation, and the round-up-to-the-next-dollar donation campaigns from Goodwill and similar places.  I also give blood to the Red Cross when my weight is sufficient.  If I had more funds, they would go to benefit the homeless - food and shelter needs.


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## fuzzybuddy (May 14, 2020)

As far as to my legal knowledge, all I can say is that I used to have one, but the wheels fell off. Talk to your attorney. But I would, indeed, talk to the charity. You may want to specify what the charity does with your money. Say you want to help feed starving kids. So you give a charity a sum of money, and they spend it fixing up their boiler. Is that why you gave them money?  And charities may not want to do what you intended to do with your donation. say the charity only works with starving animals. Plus local charities, who are affiliated with national ones, may have different rules about which gets to use the donation-the locals or the national org. If there is only a few words in a will to guide them, your donation may not be what you intended. This comes into play much more than you think. In some  charity orgs., if a will donation is made to the local org, it may have to kick back 60-70% to the national org. That may not be what you want.


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## Myquest55 (May 14, 2020)

We have been giving to* LOCAL charities* - we know who they are and what they do.  With national charities it is harder to follow the funds or know that they are being used in the manner you expect.  With the Covid-19 impact we have been giving extra to the local food bank and soup kitchen since we can not volunteer right now.  The *Salvation Army* is another recommended charity - they are very clean financially so most of the money actually goes to the people in need and they NEVER turn down anyone who needs help. I personally know someone who turned their life around with their assistance.


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## fmdog44 (May 14, 2020)

Babycakes said:


> What’s a good charity? Anybody have any good suggestions and why you feel the way you do?


St Jude treats children with very serious diseases and absorbs 100%  of the costs. I prefer helping little kids facing possible death or serious aliments over animals or poor adult people.


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## In The Sticks (May 15, 2020)

Here's one thing I've encountered you may wish to think about if you have heirs other than charities:

If they are beneficiaries to investment and retirement accounts, then upon verification of your death, they get a check...that's their money right away (applied to charities as well as people.)  If there are expenses related to your estate (say, home repairs to prepare it for sale, or even utilities to keep it in good condition until sold), you want to make certain that enough cash is part of the general estate so that it does not get distributed until the estate is finally settled.

I had my bank accounts and retirement accounts set up with beneficiaries, and then realized that there needed to be cash for various estate expenses, so I removed the beneficiary clause from my bank accounts so the bucks flow into my estate rather than immediately into the pockets of others, who might not care that the place needs a new roof or power for the heat pump until it gets sold.  Once everything is buttoned up, the assets are distributed.

As always, I'm just a stranger on the internet, not a lawyer.

Seek competent advice.


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## In The Sticks (May 15, 2020)

fmdog44 said:


> St Jude treats children with very serious diseases and absorbs 100%  of the costs. I prefer helping little kids facing possible death or serious aliments over animals or poor adult people.


And this is why we do it through private charities and not through government.

We each do our own research, support our own causes, make our own decisions, and direct our own money.  Just as it should be.


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## HoneyNut (Jun 28, 2020)

I don't think a charity needs to be notified in advance, you can check their website and see if it provides the info you need to make it a beneficiary.  I think that's what I did when I made a will, just went to the charity website and clicked on their link about remembering them in wills and the page had their ID number and address to use.
Though I guess some types of charity need to be arranged in advance, like if you want to give land or provide funds for a community to buy a park/playground equipment/art work.


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