A bequest is one of the simplest and easiest ways of planning a donation. Once you have ensured that your family and loved ones have been taken care of, you can choose to leave a portion of your estate to the Foundation by adding a gift in your will.

Several types of bequests are available to you:

Specific bequest (a specific amount or a specified asset);
Residual bequest (all or a percentage of the remainder of the estate after the payment of debts and specific bequests);
Universal bequest (all of the assets, sometimes divided among many beneficiaries);
Designation of a charity as beneficiary of an RRSP, a pension fund or a life insurance policy.

In each case, a tax receipt will be issued for use in the donor’s final tax return, following his death. The tax benefits from charitable bequests can dramatically reduce the taxes to be paid out by the estate.

It is possible to designate a charitable organization as the beneficiary of the death benefit of an insurance policy. Here are two ways of giving without penalizing your heirs:

The insurance policy is surrendered to the Ataxia Canada Foundation, which becomes the owner and beneficiary of the policy: Every year, the premium is paid by the donor directly to the insurer. The latter confirms the amount of the payment to the HMR Foundation and the Foundation issues a tax receipt for the donation. This can be used to offset your annual income tax assessment.

Designate the Foundation as beneficiary of the life insurance policy: The death benefit is received as a donation. The Foundation issues a tax receipt to the donor’s estate. The estate can use the receipt as a 100% deductible tax credit.

Any excess amount may be applied to the year preceding the death of the insurance policy owner.

For further information or making a Gift of Life Insurance, please contact us at 514-321-8684

Contrary to other planned gifts, the funds from an RRSP or RRIF do not require complex legal documents or trust agreements. In February 2000, the Canadian government implemented a simple and effective way for individuals to donate the income from registered retirement savings plans (RRSP) and registered retirement Income funds (RRIF) to charitable organizations such as the Foundation.

The gift is easy to arrange: You simply change the information regarding the beneficiary on the contract and notify the institution that manages your retirement account.

Retirement funds are among the most heavily taxed assets that you own. However, when a charity is designated as a direct beneficiary of a registered plan, these taxes are offset by the tax receipt issued by the charity for the full amount being transferred.

This deferred donation is one of the most advantageous, because when plan assets are directly designated, they are not included in the estate and are not subject to probate fees. Moreover, your estate will receive a tax credit.

Donating RRSP or RRIF funds directly is an effective way of avoiding this tax liability and of preserving the value of the funds in order to contribute to the Foundation.

For further information or making a Gift of RRSP or RRIF, please contact us at 514-321-8684

Do you own shares, mutual funds, bonds and other securities and wish to donate them to the Foundation?

A donation of shares allows you to avoid paying income tax on the taxable portion of your capital gains. However, in order to benefit from this tax credit, the securities must be transferred directly to the Foundation without selling them. An income tax receipt for 100% of the fair market value of the securities will be issued to you on the day they are directly transferred to the Foundation account. The transfer can be done electronically.

What types of securities can I donate?

Shares
Savings bonds
Mutual funds

For further information or making a Donation of Securities, please contact us at 514-321-8684

An endowment fund is a contribution where the original capital is preserved in perpetuity. Only the interest generated from the capital is used for the purposes outlined by the donor.

You can set up an endowment fund now and allow the unit or department of your choice to benefit from the capitalized income of the endowment fund.

For further information or creating an Endowment Fund, please contact us at 514-321-8684

The role of an advisor in financial or legal services or that of a professional in gift planning is to act as the intermediary between donors and the charitable organizations.

Only a professional (notary, lawyer, accountant or financial planner) can legally carry out the necessary activities relating to planning a gift. If  you are a professional and want to help us, please do not hesitate to contact us at ataxia@lacaf.org 

In Quebec:

NATHALIE MORENO FALLA, notaire/notary

Prévost notaires/notaries inc.

1600 – 2000, ave. McGill College

Montréal (Québec)  H3A 3H3

tel: 514-392-9033

email: nmorenofalla@prevostnotaires.com

In Ontario:

Mitchell Besner, Partner, Head of Business Law and Wills and Estates Groups

Merovitz Potechin LLP

300-1565 Carling Avenue

Ottawa, ON K1Z 8R1

email: mitchell@mpottawa.com

phone: 613-563-6686

Profile: https://www.merovitzpotechin.com/our-team/mitchell-besner/

The title of professional gift planner is only applied to the members of the CAGP-ACPDPTM. The person in charge of planned giving at the charity will be able to refer you to useful contacts.

Many professionals, due to their expertise, may be called upon to help clients plan a gift. In light of this, many associations have chosen to associate themselves with our program:

La Chambre des notaires du Québec
La Chambre de la sécurité financière
l’Institut québécois de planification financière
L’Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec